Empyrean Rising
by SecretEngima
Summary: Before there were Quirks, there were Dying Will Flames. But in the birth of a society where everyone had a superpower, the Will needed to reach for the inner Flame was lost. Until, that is, a boy is born without a Quirk, but with the desire to be a hero and the Will to succeed no matter the risk.
1. Chapter 1: Sky and Storm

**Author's Note: SO! Here I am, with yet another new story. I've mostly given up trying to contain the Plot Bunnies at this point, because there are just too many to hold off. In my defense, My Hero Academia is an addicting anime and I did originally plan to wait until I had actually finished this one-shot series to post it. But then my planned seven chapters just kept growing and growing until I had enough plot notes for eight chapters, then ten, and then ... then I just gave up and decided to post this thing already. To anyone who came here from reading my Transformers story or my Fairy Tail story, don't worry, I'm still giving those love and attention and hope to post something for them soon. For anyone who came from Ballad, I FINALLY finished the latest chapter, it just needs editing and then I'll post it. For someone who discovered this browsing the My Hero Academia fanfic lists, welcome to my personal brand of chaos and crazy, I hope you enjoy.**

 **To clear up any potential misunderstandings from the get-go, this will be an AU drabble series that got started when I made the mistake of asking my muses: What would happen is the My Hero Academia world had not only quirks, but Dying Will Flames from the KHR series? None of the KHR characters or artifacts like the pacifiers or rings, mind you. Just Dying Will Flames. What would happen to Izuku, the boy without a quirk but with willpower and determination and kindness practically oozing out his ears, in a world where his will could legitimately become power rather than one where he had to be lucky enough to be given a quirk by All Might? What if other members of Class 1-A ended up unlocking a physical manifestation of their Will on top of their actual quirks too? The answers to those questions was, of course, a flood of ideas that pestered me until I sat down and wrote them out. So here we are, with a story that isn't crossover enough to count as an actual crossover story (in my opinion anyway), but isn't your usual Deku-With-A-Quirk story either. I have several chapters of varying lengths already prewritten, but I'm going to try to parse them out in a schedule so that I have time to write more in between working on all my other stories. This story, just like Ballad, will only be worked on/updated as inspiration strikes, but hopefully I won't leave anyone hanging for TOO long (no promises though). Also, a heartfelt thanks to Wolfsrainrules for being one of the inspirations and supporters of this story. And also for being the one who introduced me to My Hero Academia in the first place (look what you've done, I was just getting my bunnies organized).**

 **With all that rambling out of the way, I hope you enjoy the (very short) first installment of Empyrean Rising!**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia, Katekyo Hitman Reborn, or any references made in this story. The only things I own are any OCs and the crazy plot that has partially combined the two fandoms.**

* * *

 **Sky and Storm**

It started when Izuku was five. Kacchan had gone off on one of his many adventures to places he was specifically told not to go, with Izuku following along like a shy, overawed puppy despite his fear of disobeying adults. They were playing in the woods again, much deeper than children their age were allowed to go, when they rounded a tree and were suddenly surrounded by three strange men.

Izuku could still remember the terror and the tears as they were roughly grabbed by the men. Could still remember the glint of sunlight on steel as his captor's fingers turned into knives and pressed dangerously close to Izuku's tiny throat. Izuku had frozen, to scared to move or struggle, while Kacchan had fought back. Kacchan had kicked and screamed and bit and slammed his sparking palms right where it would hurt. The man trying to hold down Kacchan had let loose several blistering curses and struck Kacchan in an effort to make him stop. Kacchan had continued to struggle and bite and scream until the third man had coldly snapped to just kill Kacchan and take Izuku as a lone hostage instead.

Kacchan had been scared then. As he was held down —still screaming and trying to use his quirk against them— Izuku saw the anger in his eyes turn to terror. The third man held out his pointer finger, the barrel inside it extending with a click so that it was pressed against Kacchan's forehead while the second man kept Kacchan's hands pinned to the ground. There was a moment where time stilled, where everything balanced on the edge of something unseen and Izuku realized that Kacchan was going to die.

Kacchan was going to die.

 **Izuku didn't want Kacchan to die.**

Something started to burn inside him, pushing up in his chest and curling up his lungs as he struggled futilely for the first time since being grabbed. The man holding him didn't budge and Izuku realized he wasn't strong enough to break free, wasn't strong enough to save Kacchan, couldn't do anything because he was too **weak** and-

 _My-friend-my-friend-save-Kacchan-got-to-save-him-got-to-break-free-_ ** _need-to-be-free-let-me-go-LET-ME-GO_** _!_ The burning in his chest exploded and suddenly Izuku was on fire. Brilliant amber flames with rich flickers of purple surged across his skin, coating his arms in heat as he screamed. His captor yelled in surprise and his grip loosened just as the flickers of purple fire swirled down Izuku's legs and he lunged.

Izuku launched forward like a bullet, the world blurring around him as he crashed into man about to kill Kacchan. The impact sent the man flying into the nearest tree with a cry and a sickening crunch that Izuku would only remember later. He was only dimly aware of someone screaming as he whirled and slammed a fire-coated fist into the face of the man who had been holding Kacchan down. There was an endless chant in his mind, driving him on as something seethed and raged at the thought that they had touched something of his, tried to harm what was **his**. _Mine-mine-_ ** _don't-touch-my-friend-don't-touch-what's-mine-_**

The man's nose collapsed with a snap-crunch of bone and blood and he fell back with a howl. Izuku pursued him, straddling the man's chest and mindlessly slamming his fists into the man's face while the screaming he could distantly hear just kept going.

It wouldn't be until much later that he would realize that the screaming was his.

Something moved behind him and Kacchan's voice broke through the haze in Izuku's mind, "Deku, look out!" There was a loud crack of an explosion and Izuku twisted around in time to see that the man who had been holding him down earlier had tried to stab Izuku in the back only for Kacchan to barrel into him and set off his quirk.

The man backhanded Kacchan with a curse, sending him spinning to the ground a short distance away. Izuku saw the man raise his hand again, fingers shifting to glittering knives that aimed for Kacchan's exposed chest and something inside Izuku snarled rabidly. Izuku abandoned his previous target and charged, flinging himself forward to stop the knives, the instinct in his head chanting incessantly to _protect-protect-protect-_. Pain ripped through Izuku's side and blood flew.

Izuku fell to the ground with a sob, the fire burning inside him and coating his arms doing nothing to soothe the agony or slow the growth of the red puddle forming around him. The knife-man only snorted and raised his hand again. Izuku, his head lolling back from the pain, opened tear-filled eyes and locked gazes with the horror-stricken Kacchan.

Red eyes locked with amber-tinged green, the world slowed for a moment once again as the knives came down for the kill…

Then Kacchan had lunged forward —over the writhing body of his friend— and Izuku was temporarily blinded by an explosion the same color as the blood pooling beneath him.

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The heroes who had been pursuing the escaped villains arrived less than a minute later. An ambulance was called not long after that, and Izuku rushed to the hospital with a snarling, shaking Kacchan sitting next to him the entire ride because anyone who had tried to keep him from coming had promptly gotten their pants set on fire by Kacchan's quirk.

Izuku's and Kacchan's mothers arrived at the hospital not long after Izuku was admitted, Inko's face a mass of tears and Mitsuki's one of tight, worried rage. The two boys were praised for fighting off the villains —by the Pro Heroes— even while they had been lectured and grounded for going somewhere they **knew** they were not allowed —by their mothers—.

Of the three men who had attacked them, one had a shattered spine from his collision with the tree and was permanently paralyzed from the waist down. The second had bad facial burns, a shattered nose, and broken cheekbones that required extensive surgery just to restore his face to functionality.

They never found the third villain. The heroes assumed that he had run away after injuring Izuku because he'd heard the heroes coming. Neither boy corrected their assumptions, just as they never spoke of the blackened, oblong crater in that section of the forest that was roughly the same size as a human being. The crater that was still there even when they grew to adulthood, the ground charred to the point no grass would grow.

They never spoke to anyone about what happened in the forest that day. And if Kacchan didn't use his quirk while in school or during his many squabbles on the playground for a very, very long time, well, they never spoke of that either.

What they did speak of frequently —once Izuku was out of the hospital and Inko was okay with Izuku being more than five feet away from her at any given time— was Izuku's new multi-colored fire quirk. The two boys —now inseparable and hardly ever seen apart from the other— experimented with it often in the privacy of Kacchan's backyard, testing what it could do and how it compared to Kacchan's now sometimes red-colored explosion quirk.

It was during one of their days in Kacchan's backyard after school that it happened. Izuku was sitting on the ground, palm outstretched so that he could examine his amber fire and try to figure out why it had dark purple streaks running through it. A few feet to his right, Kacchan was taking possibly too much pleasure in picking up rocks and seeing how many different ways he could disintegrate them with his quirk.

Neither noticed the subconscious feeling of something prodding at their respective fire that had been going on for days, reaching and curling around each other in companionship until it finally settled and clicked and both boys froze.

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For Katsuki, it was the sudden sensation of coming home. Of safety that he had not felt since the attack in the forest. It was like there had been a jagged edge inside him, scraping his patience and nerves raw without his knowing until something had shifted inside him and the jagged edge was smoothed over by curling amber warmth. It was like he had been trapped inside a box far too small for him, raging and screaming to get out, only for the box to be suddenly opened and he discovered that there was nothing around him but endless yet safe skies in which to roam.

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For Izuku, it was like regaining his balance after a lifetime of being unsteady. Of something wild and unrelenting and ferocious —like one of those thunderstorms that he and his Kā-san sometimes watched together while huddled up in a blanket— curling around him protectively. He could feel the wild edge of danger, the barely restrained violence in the possessive tendrils of red, yet he was unafraid. Because he knew without even thinking about it that he was in the eye of the storm, that the storm would never rage **against** him, only **for** him. It would keep him safe.

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As one, the boys turned and stared at each other, knowing without being told that the feelings they had gotten came from each other. There was a connection between them now, bright and burning and strong and while neither boy would even think of protesting it's existence now that it was there, neither of them was entirely sure what to **do** with it. Or why it had happened.

Katsuki was the first one to break the stunned silence between them, successfully summing up what they were both thinking with a curt, "What the f*ck just happened?"

They wouldn't get a detailed answer until years later. But in the interim, the two boys eventually just accepted it and moved on with their lives, not even noticing that where once Katsuki had been on the verge of leaving Izuku behind, they now walked instinctively side by side.

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 **Preview for Next Chapter:** _People screamed and terror overcame adrenaline-induced confidence as everyone began to run away. Izuku half-turned to follow them -there was no point in fighting something that dangerous for no points- when his instincts screeched and dragged his attention back over his shoulder in the direction of the robot._

 _There was a girl trapped under the rubble that had come down when the robot first appeared._

 _He didn't know her. He had seen her in passing on his way with Kacchan to the lecture hall, but he didn't know her. He didn't know her name, didn't have any association with her. They were complete strangers. A part of him said to keep running, because he didn't know her and it wasn't his problem and surely the proctors wouldn't let anyone actually **die** in these tests, right? The robot would stop before it crushed her, or turn aside, or-_

 _Tearful, terrified, helpless eyes looked up and locked with his._

 _Izuku ran._


	2. Chapter 2: Sun

**Hi everybody! Here with this month's update on Empyrean Rising! Yes, these are going to be monthly. I'm trying to ration out what prewritten chapters I have so that I have time to finish the newer ones on time (hopefully). I figure a monthly but relatively steady supply is better than me dropping off the face of the earth every few months or more right? Right. Onward!**

 **Review Response: Dear AyameKitsune, hello! Glad you enjoyed! I hope this next chapter is just as exciting!**

 **Dear Dragon Lord Draco, hi! I'd reply to this ... but I'm pretty sure I already covered (probably to the point of death and zombificaction) that question in your PM...? I hope you like the update though!**

 **Dear greenwatch 7, greetings! Thank you!**

 **Dear Jaakusan, hey there! (offers marshmallows) cool, welcome to the campsite, just ignore the Plot Bunny infestation over there. Unless it has wings, then hide, because they also breathe fire. Also, beware of coffee-stealing Ninjas. Enjoy the update!**

 **Dear wolfsrainrules, hello! You have no idea how pleased I am that you like this. Hopefully this lives up to expectations (because I have so many head canons about this now, SO MANY AND THEY ARE ALL YOUR FAULT YOU WONDERFUL PERSON).**

 **Dear Frolicks for Fun, hi there! Cool! I love it when someone likes more than one of my stories. Well, in this story there will be curses because Bakugo, but I try to censor them, so I hope its still enjoyable. Really? Huh, I wasn't able to find any of those ... ah well, glad mine is still an interesting take on the idea.**

 **Author's Note: So, as stated above, this will be getting monthly updates. I forgot to put that in the author's note of the last chapter I think, but that's the schedule I've decided for this thing. For those who came here from my other stories - the next chapter of AUW is in progress. The next chapter of AMOSC is ... two-thirds done, I think? Something like that. The next chapter of Ballad is also in progress. No ETA on when any of those will be done and ready to post, but I am still working on them. Also, if any of you are AMOSC readers, I have a poll up in my profile that I would be very grateful to get some more votes on. You can choose up to three options and the poll's description will tell you what you're voting for. With all that out of the way, onward! To the chapter!**

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 **Sun**

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The entrance exam into U.A. was a nightmare. People shouted and screamed and there were villain machines everywhere. Izuku felt like his senses were being pulled in a thousand different directions at once and the only thing keeping him from snapping and unleashing Epic Violet Violence —Kacchan's name for it, not his— was the Harmony effect of the amber side of his fire quirk.

It really, really didn't help that he had gotten separated from Kacchan because now he had to deal with the feelings of _frustration-anger-worry-not-right-not-right-kill-kill-kill-_ Kacchan was throwing his way on top of Izuku's own separation anxiety and the chaos going on around him. Everyone in their neighborhood had learned early on after Izuku's quirk had manifested that separating Kacchan and Izuku for long periods of time was a Bad Idea. Kacchan's temper would go from snarly to murderous and Izuku would go from shy but friendly to an absolute bipolar mess within hours, minutes if something stressful happened to either one of them.

Add on top of that an unknown amount of distance, no way to regroup until after the fighting was over, and the rampant chaos of the test battlefield? Izuku would be genuinely surprised if none of the other testers in Kacchan's arena ended up hospitalized just for breathing in Kacchan's general direction.

Izuku whirled around another robot, orange fire dancing along his palms and his eyes shining purple as he slammed one fist into its metal side. The robot exploded spectacularly, the propagation factor of his amethyst fire enhancing the strength of his punch enough to easily puncture through its armor while his amber fire lit the fuel and other fluids it used to function. He rocked back on his heels, dodging the shrapnel with the ease that came from training against Kacchan's explosions for ten years. _That makes twenty-five points_.

His lungs burned in his chest as he turned away from the wreckage of the robot and took off down a random side street in search of more. In the back of Izuku's mind, Kacchan's thrill over being able to really let loose pulsed like a second heartbeat and his rage at being separated threatened to spill into Izuku's veins like a second source of adrenaline.

Izuku kept a tight rein on the bond, it wouldn't do to let Kacchan's emotions overrun his own and make him lose his head. Kacchan might have been an instinctive fighter, but Izuku preferred to strategize and be able to think rather than just trust his gut for everything.

Two more robots rumbled into view and Izuku focused, fire dancing up his wrists until it singed the sleeves of his jacket. The first of the robots fell to two swift punches, while the second was taken out by another tester before Izuku could get to it. _Twenty-seven._ Izuku nodded to himself, he was racking up a decent amount of points, had yet to melt into a puddle of nerves and fear, and had yet to receive any injury more serious than bruises and scratches. All things considered, everything was going well.

Then suddenly it wasn't.

The ground beneath his feet began to shake and groan. Up ahead, people started shouting and Izuku suddenly remembered that there was a zero-point obstacle robot hidden in each arena. Izuku pounded forward, coming out of the alley onto the main street where most of the other testers were crowded, and looked up. Horror, disbelief, and the realization that the test proctors were **insane** rippled through him, because surely a several story robot that couldn't even **fit in the street** was major overkill.

From the feelings he was getting from Kacchan, Izuku could only assume that all of the other arenas had just had their "obstacle" unleashed. People screamed and terror overcame adrenaline-induced confidence as everyone began to run away. Izuku half-turned to follow them —there was no point in fighting something that dangerous for no points— when his instincts screeched and dragged his attention back over his shoulder in the direction of the robot.

There was a girl trapped under the rubble that had come down when the robot first appeared.

He didn't know her. He had seen her in passing on his way with Kacchan to the lecture hall, but he didn't know her. He didn't know her name, didn't have any association with her. They were complete strangers. A part of him said to keep running because he didn't know her and it wasn't his problem and surely the proctors wouldn't actually let anyone **die** in these tests right? The robot would stop before it crushed her, or turn aside, or-

Tearful, terrified, helpless eyes looked up and locked with his and suddenly all Izuku could think about was that he knew that terror, he had seen those eyes before, where had he seen those eyes before-?

.

.

 _Rage turned to terror as the third man held out his pointer finger, the barrel inside it extending with a click so that it was pressed against Kacchan's forehead while the second man kept his hands pinned to the ground and Izuku realized that Kacchan was going to die._

 _Kacchan was going to die._

 ** _Izuku didn't want Kacchan to die._**

 _._

 _._

 _The man snorted and raised his hand again. Izuku, his head lolling back from the pain, opened tear-filled eyes and locked gazes with the horror-stricken Kacchan._

 _Red eyes locked with amber-tinged green, the world slowed for a moment once again, the knives came down for the kill…_

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Izuku ran.

Pavement crumbled under the force of his steps as he hurtled forward. Everything narrowed down to the roar in his ears, the girl in the rubble, the robot looming closer-closer-closer-. _Too close, too close, won't make it in time, it's already starting to drive over the rubble, need to move, need to_ ** _make it stop-_** _!_ Orange fire tinted purple and green eyes shifted to a mix of amber and amethyst as he lunged.

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"What in the name of-?" the surprised exclamation drew Yagi Toshinori's attention away from one of the other arena cameras and to Arena A. For a moment, he didn't understand what he was seeing. The zero-point obstacle had ground to an awkward halt, left tread still rumbling forward for a few more feet before it stopped for risk of overbalancing. _Did someone take out the right tread? How did-?_ The dust of the rubble began to swirl clear now that the machine had stopped and Toshinori felt himself stand up in shock. He wasn't the only one. All eyes snapped away from the other arena cameras and disbelieving exclamations filled the air as everyone stared at the lone figure holding back the robot's enormous right tread.

Orange and purple … were those flames? swirled and flared around the figure, burning away his jacket and most of his shirt as he struggled to hold back the tread of the robot. _Why is he-?_ Toshinori focused on a spot just below the youth and spotted the girl struggling to extricate herself from the rubble. A smile began to tug on his lips, _a rescue._ His smile dropped in favor of a slacked jaw as, with a flare of purple, the boy suddenly pushed up and forward, toppling the massive robot back and to the left into some of the buildings.

He knew it had been a long time since anyone tackled the obstacle robot head-on, more since anyone destroyed it with one hit, but he had never, **ever** heard of someone knocking it over from ground level.

What happened next, was arguably even more impressive.

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Izuku screamed as he released Violet Violence and threw the tread back, away from the girl, _mine-mine-mine-don't-touch-what's-mine-_ The machine tipped over with a shriek of metal and a crash as it collided with the buildings on the left. Izuku cratered the rubble beneath him as he jumped, surging onto the robot's side and running up its length toward the head as it struggled to right itself. One huge metallic hand swept by as it flailed and the glancing blow threw him into the air. Izuku heard rather than felt several of his ribs break, but ignored it completely as he twisted in the air with spurts of flame.

He hadn't mastered using his flames to truly fly quite yet without compromising his ability to fight in mid-air, but he could steer for short periods of time without a problem. Orange jets burst from his hands, propelling him even higher and still forward until he was suspended just above the robot's head. Izuku let himself fall, gravity pulling him faster and faster to the slowly rising metal head as he channeled as much amethyst fire as he could into one foot while flinging out one hand and igniting a single jet of fire from it.

He fell in a twisting torrent of flame, momentum and power combining into a devastating force as his fire-enhanced foot rammed into the robot's head. The head exploded instantly, setting off a chain reaction through the rest of its body so that the entire thing went up in flames even as the sheer force of his kick sent the remains flying in every direction.

A hail of hot shrapnel ripped through his clothing and skin and something hard bounced off of his head, dazing him. Izuku gave a cry as he found himself falling and amber spurted unsteadily out of his hands as he tried to change his fall into a more controlled descent despite the whirling in his mind from the earlier impact. He only partially succeeded, crashing to the ruined pavement in a painful heap of limbs and shrapnel.

The ringing in his ears tapered off enough that he could hear his own frantic heartbeat and the distant buzzer that signaled the end of the practical test. In the back of his head, Kacchan was going ballistic, _worry-anger-stupid-Deku-_ ** _stupid-Deku_** flooding the bond. Izuku coughed, tasted copper, and mentally repeated Kacchan's favorite curses.

Just as he was struggling with what to do and why his head felt swimmy, the smoky sky above was cut off from his view by a tearful face, "Don't die, don't die, you can't just save me and then die!" The tears dropped onto his ruined shirt while shaky hands frantically patted and poked his body. Izuku felt his amber fire reach out to the girl and he tried to reassure her that he was fine, or at least, he hoped he would be, but no words came out.

The girl gave a chocked off sob as her fingers brushed against something other than his midriff and Izuku realized with an oddly blasé feeling that there was a sizable piece of metal sticking out of his torso. _Oh. That … that could be a problem._ Grey crept along the edges of his vision, Kacchan had reached the point of straight-up panicking instead of his usual tsundere worry-rage, and someone was shouting for everyone to get out of her way **right now**.

Izuku closed his eyes for a second. He knew better than to give in to the urge to pass out, but that didn't stop him from feeling abruptly exhausted from the adrenaline dump and blood loss. The girl from the rubble took it the wrong way and shouted, "No! No, wake up! **Wake up**!" Something sparked where her hands were pressed against his side, there was a flare of _warmth-stubborn-heal-_ ** _stay_** , and he felt something settle into his amber fire with a click he'd only felt once before just over ten years ago.

Izuku's eyes snapped back open with a gasp. His gaze locked with shocked, gleaming yellow eyes and in an instant he knew that whatever had happened between him and Kacchan had just happened between him and the girl. It felt the same as when he had bonded with Kacchan, but also completely different.

Kacchan had been a protective storm that roared and snarled but would only ever fight for Izuku, never against him, someone that would shield Izuku in the eye of his fury. This girl felt like sunshine and open fields and cheerful smiles that would cheer him up when he was sad. It felt like gentle hands bandaging his hurts without judgement. Somewhere to which he could retreat when he needed to heal, someone who would protect him from harm if she could and heal what hurts she could not prevent.

Something inside him warmed, felt more complete, better, stronger, and Izuku opened his mouth to say … something. Anything.

But then an old lady shoved the girl aside and Izuku's world dissolved into a blur of shouting, pain, stretchers, and an ambulance.

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Uraraka Ochako had grown up with fairy tales. Stories of might and magic, heroes and villains. Adventures that ranged from whimsical fantasy to the real yet still unbelievable stories of heroes like All Might.

But her favorite stories, the ones she had begged to hear again and again, had been the ones her Obā-san had told her of the First Quirks.

Ever since Ochako could remember, her Obā-san would sit Ochako on her lap and tell her about how long, long ago, there was a time when there were only seven quirks in the whole world. There were more than seven people who had them, but there were only ever seven quirks.

The quirks looked like multi-colored fire, but did things no normal fire quirk could do. They could only be manifested in times of unbelievable peril and were meant to work in harmony, with the six balancing each other out in some way and the seventh serving as their center, their heart, their home. For this reason, the quirks were all named after the weather, with the central, most important quirk being called The Sky.

Obā-san had told her about how back then, most of the people in the world were Quirkless. Because of that, anyone who had possessed one of the seven First Quirks hid in the Underworld and kept their powers a secret while searching for others to balance out their quirk. While searching for their Sky. Obā-san told her of how, as years turned to centuries, other people began manifesting quirks that were not the original seven. Some being born with the new quirks, or awakening them at random when they were children.

So, as the world grew more and more accustomed to the kinds of quirks Ochako or her parents had, the Will and the passion needed to manifest one of the First Quirks faded. People stopped trying to manifest them, stopped searching for their Set and their Sky. Eventually, the secret of the First Quirks was forgotten entirely and the First Quirks were forever lost beneath the swell of modern quirks and a society of heroes and villains.

But, her Obā-san had whispered to her, someday a Sky would rise once again. A Last Sky who, together with his Set, would save the entire world from a darkness even the heroes would be unable to stop.

Ochako had loved those stories, had dreamed of someday unlocking one of the First Quirks and finding the Last Sky. Of how they would Harmonize and they would save the world together alongside the other five First Quirks. But then the realization of how hard her parents struggled to make ends meet forced her to mature and she pushed those dreams aside in favor of becoming a hero with her **real** quirk. When her Obā-san passed away in her sleep one night, Ochako had stopped believing in the stories entirely. She had forgotten about the First Quirks.

Until she had gotten trapped under some rubble during her entrance exam to U.A. and had felt death loom over her in the form of a giant robot about to heedlessly run her over. She had been terrified. She had cried, she had pleaded to live, to survive because she had to live, she **had to** , for her parents, for herself, and she-

She didn't want to die.

 _Please, please, I want to_ ** _live!_**

Her teeth were rattling in her skull at that point from how close the robot was, its shadow swallowing her whole and she squeezed her eyes shut because this was it and she didn't want to see how it ended-

Then there was a wave. A wash of _warmth-safe-protect-don't-touch-what's-mine_ that sank into her skin, soaked into her lungs, and wrapped protectively around her very core. Metal screeched overhead and the air turned hot in response.

And death did not come.

Death had been denied.

Ochako opened her eyes then, twisted around as best she could and **saw**. Amber and amethyst twisted in the air, creating winds that stirred dark green hair and burned away his already tattered jacket as he held back death with nothing but his bare hands and his will.

 _"_ _It wasn't just any will,"_ Her Obā-san whispered in her memories, _"It was Dying Will. The Will to turn mountains to dust and sink islands into the sea, because there was nothing left to do but_ ** _fight_** _to survive the impossible."_ The boy screamed in defiance and suddenly flung the robot —so much bigger and stronger than he was— back onto its side. Amber seared against her core again and Ochako struggled, kicked and clawed at the rubble that trapped her while her rescuer surged up the side of the robot and obliterated it with a flaming kick to the head.

She finished wiggling free of the rubble and watched, gasping, awed, **enchanted** at the firestorm high above her head that finished the fight. Awe turned to horror as her rescuer fell to earth in a flurry of barely controlled fire bursts, landing right on top of a piece of one of the smaller robots that everyone had been destroying earlier. _No!_ Ochako scrambled to him, crying and demanding and pleading as she ghosted her hands over his body, over the gashes and scratches and the giant piece of metal protruding from his torso. She felt sick, sick in a way far worse than when she overused her quirk because she did this. This was all her fault. If she hadn't been too slow and gotten trapped under that rubble then he would be okay, he wouldn't be bleeding out and her hands wouldn't be coated in his blood and **why was he closing his eyes**?

"No! No, wake up! **Wake up!** " Something burned inside her, desperation and adrenaline coalescing into the **Will** to save her rescuer. He had to live. He couldn't die because of her, she wouldn't let him, **she-wouldn't-let-him-die-** something snapped inside her and for a moment her grasping hands glowed like the sun. Yellow tugged desperately on flickering amber and in an instant there was a connection, an inaudible click as her entire world shifted.

It was like coming home to her mother's hugs and her father's laugh. It was like drifting on clouds without a worry in the world. It was like someone wrapping their arms tight around her and making everything better, everything **right** inside her even though she hadn't been aware that something was wrong until it had been fixed.

Amber eyes snapped open and stared at her and time seemed to slow as his mouth opened to speak. But then Ochako was roughly shoved to one side by a little old woman in a nurse's outfit, "Move aside, young lady! E.M.T.s! I need E.M.T.s over here!" Everything blurred into chaos and shouting and Ochako found herself gently but firmly pushed away from the boy as he was loaded onto a stretcher and taken away.

When her mind cleared again, Ochako was standing in the middle of the arena with blood on her hands and her heart in her throat. A tenuous bridge of warmth stretched away in the direction they had taken her savior, bringing home the reality of what had just happened.

The First Quirks were real. She held a First Quirk, she had found the Last Sky.

And he was dying because of her.

Someone took her by the shoulders and began to gently lead her out of the arena, but Ochako didn't notice. She was too busy clinging to the slender bridge of warmth in her chest and praying that legends would not come true before her eyes only to die soon after.

.

* * *

 **Preview:** _Izuku blinked in confusion, "Sun? Sky? I ... I don't think I understand. I have a multicolored fire Quirk. Not ... not a Sky Quirk."_

 _Uraraka-san stared at him in disbelief and Izuku could almost hear pieces to some puzzle falling into place in her mind, "You mean ... you don't **know**?"_


	3. Interlude: Introductions

**Alright, hi everybody! Finished NaNo and have returned with an interlude. It's ... very short if I'm honest, but I thought it was necessary setup and I didn't want to combine it with a different chapter, so here we go.**

 **Review Response: Dear Dragon Lord Draco, hiya! Cool. Nope, Harmonization is a group thing. Skies attempt to find at least a Full Set (one of each other Element) but powerful Skies can have doubles or even triples of certain Elements, especially if they are closer personality-wise to a certain kind of Element (an easygoing Sky might attract more than one Rain for example). Even so, multiple Full Sets are extremely rare (like, almost mythology level rare). As for Ochako's grandma ... maybe? Didn't think of it like that. Whether she had a prophecy quirk or not, Ochako's grandma got those stories the same way Ochako learned them: from her mother and grandmother before her back generation after generation, starting from when the Flames first started disappearing. I'll let you make of that what you will.**

 **Dear Jaakusan, hello there! Don't worry, I'm not THAT cruel. Besides, Deku's too adorable to kill. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Dear Wolfkun, greetings! Well thank you, I had fun figuring out how to incorporate Flames into BNHA's history and lore.**

 **Dear Lascka, hi! Thrilled to hear it! (nods) Bakugo is actually my favorite POV to write for in this story (his chapter hasn't been posted yet, but I'll get there). There's just something so entertaining about a jerk with a heart of gold isn't there? So long as the jerk doesn't outweigh the gold heart too heavily. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Author's Note: General info update for everyone - I finished a new chapter for AMOSC (still needs edits though), and for AUW (also still needs edits) during my spare time last month. Didn't finish Ballad's newest chapter yet, but I made a bit of progress (writer's block, why?). I also worked on a couple new fan fictions that I will be posting once they are edited to my satisfaction and I've prewritten enough on them to feel like people will be able to enjoy them before I inevitably get thrown off my update schedule. One of them is another BNHA AU (that doesn't involve Flames, but something else entirely), so hopefully you'll enjoy it when it shows up! One last thing, on my longer-running stories, I've noticed the Review Response sections are getting ... ridiculously long really, and they add well over 30 minutes to how long it takes to post new chapters. Therefore, as an experiment, I am going to switch to PMing review responses to the readers of this story who are members and keeping the Review Response section for guest reviews. I'll answer everybody's reviews from last chapter in this Review Response, but next time I'll PM a response to you. PLEASE DO NOT REPLY to the PM unless you have another important story-related question or something, because I'll probably be busy with Real Life and I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings by accidentally forgetting to reply to a bunch of different PMs. Not that I don't love hearing from you, but on my longer-running stories I can get reviews from up to 20 different people and I just ... don't have the time to keep track of that many different conversations at once. The point of PMing responses is to cut DOWN on the amount of free time I spend not writing/editing/posting, and I would also really, really like to avoid treading on any toes by ignoring someone by accident. There, I think that's everything. Onward!**

* * *

 **.**

 **Interlude: Introductions**

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Izuku heard the door open and craned his head to peer around the fussing Kacchan. His childhood friend whirled with a snarl, his hands curling like claws while red sparks danced off his palms, " **Oi**! Who the f*ck are you? Get out! You got no business here!"

The person in the doorway hesitated at Kacchan's roar. Fear, nervousness, and stubborn anticipation thrummed faintly through Izuku from a foreign source and he laid a hand on Kacchan's arm, "It's okay, Kacchan. Let her in." Kacchan paused and one red eye sized Izuku up. A silent question flashed between them, accompanied by anger, worry, and protectiveness from Kacchan's end. Izuku gave his friend a slight smile and pushed silent reassurance back in response.

Kacchan's lips curled into a wolf-like snarl, clearly unhappy with Izuku's choice, but he grudgingly lowered his hands and shuffled a half-step to one side so that the person in the doorway could actually see Izuku. Wide brown eyes found Izuku's and his smile widened despite his own nervousness, "It's alright, you can come in. Kacchan's just overprotective."

Kacchan hissed, "Say that when you **aren't** in the hospital for broken ribs and a big f*ing hole in your torso, nerd."

The girl flinched at Kacchan's words as she entered the room and shut the door behind her. Turning back around to face them, she braved Kacchan's murderous look and advanced until she was by Izuku's bedside. Once there, she bowed deeply, "T-thank you so much for saving me back then! I … I can't even- I can't-" She sniffled and Izuku felt a moment of intense panic. He had no idea what to do with crying girls. He could barely speak two sentences to the girls back in middle school that always seemed to want to talk to him, and those girls had almost always been smiling.

Some instinct niggled at the back of his mind, cutting through his panic and Izuku reached out with the amber side of his quirk, just like he would when trying to soothe Kacchan, "It's alright. Y-you didn't do anything wrong."

Relief and awe and something akin to hero worship whispered through Izuku from a foreign source again and he felt a weight settle in his stomach. _So I really wasn't imagining it. I really did somehow bond with this girl like I did with Kacchan. But how…?_ "A-ah, it's nice to meet you…?"

The girl straightened up from her bow, her eyes glistening with something like wonder, "Uraraka Ochako! Thank you! Thank you so much for what you've done! I promise I'll be the best Sun you could ever ask for! I promise! I'll train really hard to master it and keep up with you and-"

Kacchan cut through her ramble, his death glare taking on a confused edge which only Izuku could see, "Wait. **You're** the thing?"

Uraraka-san blinked at Kacchan, "E-eh? Thing?"

Kacchan took a step toward her, invading her personal space as he growled, "The **thing**. The thing connected to Deku's quirk that's been there since the entrance exam."

At the increasingly baffled look on Uraraka-san's face, Izuku piped up, "What Kacchan means is that ever since the entrance exam, I've felt an extra bond attached to my quirk. It's you, isn't it? Though I'm not sure how…"

Uraraka-san gave him a shy smile, "Oh. Oh! Yes, that's me. We … we Harmonized right before you were taken to the hospital. I-I've been trying to find you ever since to thank you. For everything. I promise I won't let you down! I'll be the best Sun a Sky could ask for!"

Izuku blinked in confusion, "Sun? Sky? I … I don't think I understand. I have a multicolored fire quirk. Not … not a Sky quirk."

Uraraka-san stared at him in disbelief and Izuku could almost hear pieces to some puzzle falling into place in her mind, "You mean … you don't **know**?"

Izuku and Kacchan exchanged glances before Kacchan muscled in on Uraraka-san's personal space again, "What the f*ck are you talking about? What do you know about Deku's quirk that we don't?"

Uraraka-san looked vaguely stunned at the question, "Izuku-kun is a Sky, or at least partially is. He has two of the First Quirks. Didn't you ever hear the stories?"

Kacchan's lip curled and Izuku hastily cut off an impending shouting session, "I don't believe we have, Uraraka-san. Would you mind telling us?" Uraraka-san agreed readily —though she also insisted Izuku call her Ochako-chan— and soon regaled them with her Obā-san's stories about the First Quirks and the Legend of the Last Sky.

For Izuku, it was mind-blowing. He had done intensive research into his quirk —and Kacchan's adapted one— over the years since unlocking it, learning what they could do and what the side-effects were. The thought that they had accidentally unlocked two parts of some kind of ancient symbiotic quirk set was borderline unbelievable. Except … Ura- Ochako-san's story outlined things about their quirks that only the two of them knew. Like how Izuku could diffuse situations with his amber fire. Or how his purple fire could propagate things at Izuku's will. Or how when Kacchan turned his explosions red, they didn't so much burn things as they disintegrated them.

Even their personalities were outlined a bit in Urara- Ochako-san's stories. Kacchan's raging temper and secret obsessive compulsive tendencies. Izuku's dislike of violence, the unconscious way he took control of the situation when he was motived enough to not be shy, his possessive streak toward the people he cared about, and his sudden urges to just … wander.

 _But … I still don't understand how this is possible. No one has ever manifested two quirks at once, and very few people ever manifest a quirk past the age of four. For the three of us to have manifested these quirks —secondary quirks in the case of Kacchan and Uraraka-san— then there must be some kind of additional requirement beyond genetics. Unless throwback genetics are involved, but the chances of that triggering the development of new quirks at the precise moment of highest stress is implausible. Unless the trigger_ ** _is_** _stress, which would explain why Uraraka-san's Obā-san's stories put such emphasis on willpower and near-death experiences, in which case these quirks could be some kind of-_

A hand landed heavily on his head, startling Izuku out of his thoughts. Kacchan was giving him a bland, irritated look that gave no hint to the faint amusement Izuku could feel over their bond. Izuku glanced at Urara- Ocha- —nope, he couldn't be that informal to someone he'd just met— Uraraka-san and recognized the overwhelmed, slightly freaked out expression on her face. Izuku gave them a sheepish smile, "Ah … I was mumbling again wasn't I? My apologies."

Uraraka-san blinked, then waved off his apology, "No, no! That was kinda amazing actually, you're very analytical Izuku-kun."

Kacchan rolled his eyes, "Deku's just a nerd. That's what nerds f*ing do." The words were mean, but they had no real bite to them, so Izuku just laughed softly. His torso twinged a moment later and Izuku winced, causing Kacchan to growl at him. Apparently deciding that lecturing —read: snarling threateningly at— Izuku yet again about not hurting himself wasn't going to do any good, Kacchan crossed his arms and grunted, "So, how are you going to explain Sunny here to your mom?"

"Explain me?" Uraraka-san shot Kacchan a puzzled look, though thankfully she didn't appear to be insulted over the nickname.

"Well she's gonna wanna know why Deku's keeping a girl in the guest room. Unless you wanna say your dating and sleep with-"

Izuku felt heat rush to his face and shouted, "Kacchan!"

Uraraka-san's face turned a tomato shade and her hand lashed out to slap Kacchan, "Pervert!". Kacchan just leaned away from the slap, utterly unashamed of his suggestion. Uraraka-san continued to flail in Kacchan's direction, sputtering about perverts and how she already had her own apartment and why would he even suggest-?

Irritation grew over his bond with Kacchan and Izuku swallowed his embarrassment as much as possible so he could intervene, "What Kacchan means is, we have to figure out a way to spend a lot of time together until the bond settles." Uraraka-san stopped sputtering in order to eye Izuku and he pushed on, "You've been feeling really agitated ever since the entrance exam right? T-trouble sleeping, nausea, random bouts of panic?"

She nodded slowly, surprised that he knew about all that and Izuku fiddled with his fingers as he continued, "I-it's a side-effect of … what did you call it? Right, Harmonizing. Kacchan and I couldn't stand to be out of each other's sight for weeks after we Harmonized, I even had a few panic attacks if we were separated for too long."

"It … it doesn't feel quite as bad being separated from you, which may be because I already have a bond with Kacchan or because you're a different type of fire -sorry, Flame-, but it would still be a good idea to sync up our schedules as much as possible until the bond settles down. We also need to figure out how to train your, ah, Sun quirk and stuff and we don't know if we'll be in the same class so figuring out how to spend time together outside of school would probably be best…"

Uraraka-san was still blushing, though she didn't feel as angrily embarrassed anymore, "Oh. Right. That … that makes sense." They compared schedules and worked out a tentative system of how to meet up as often as possible outside of school after that, with the hopes that they would end up in the same class to help increase their time together.

Izuku wasn't sure what he would do if they weren't in the same class, because he was fairly certain that both he and Uraraka-san would both have a terrible time paying attention to their teachers if they were not in the same room. And if Izuku had trouble concentrating, Kacchan usually picked up on it and became extra crabby. Maybe he could talk to the school staff and ask to be placed together with Uraraka-san and Kacchan if it got to be too distracting? He had read about U.A. having some of the best programs for accommodating quirk-based living and study difficulties, though the re-emergence of a symbiotic quirk set would probably be a new one for them and how was he going to explain that anyway-?

Kacchan brought Izuku out of his thoughts and back to the conversation with Uraraka-san with a light bop to the head. The nurse came in not long after to shoo away visitors —Kacchan only left without setting fire to the nurse's hat because Izuku had asked him to keep an eye on his mother on Izuku's behalf— and Izuku was left alone with his spinning thoughts.

Izuku settled back against the pillows after the nurse had checked him over and disappeared out the door. Despite his injuries, the panic he had caused his mother, and the mind-blowing information dump he had received, Izuku felt himself smile. His quirk —or should he call them Flames now?— were purring softly at the addition of another bond, swirling contentedly in his core despite the temporary separation.

His Flames curled tighter and something whispered in the back of his mind, an intuition Izuku had learned to trust ever since awakening his Flames. His intuition settled and solidified and Izuku realized that there were other First Quirks out there, other Flames.

And somehow, someway, he was going to find them.

This was a beginning. Of what, exactly, Izuku didn't know for sure, but he could sense that it was going to be big.

He had no idea then, but his intuition was right. It was going to be more than big.

It was going to change the world.

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* * *

 **Preview:** _The villain regained his balance and from behind the creepy hand clamped to his face, she could see insanity-sharpened red eyes bore into Midoriya-chan,_ _"Woah there, if I hadn't dodged in time, that could have killed me. That's not very_ **heroic** _, now is it? That's not playing by the rules of the game, kid. That's cheating."_

 _His fingers snapped and the huge villain that had pounded Aizawa-sensei into the ground was suddenly in front of her, Midoriya-chan dangling by one arm from a meaty, bone-crushing hand, "And I **hate** cheaters."_

 _._

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 **Also, because this chapter is so stupidly short, here's a preview for my other BNHA one-shot collection that I'm dabbling in. Let me know if you'd like to see more!**

 **Preview:**

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 _It is said that true heroes, the ones who become legends in their own lifetime, are the ones who first discovered their heroism in a time of great peril. The ones who would later say that their bodies moved on their own to save an innocent. Instinctive heroes, who protect because it is in their very **nature** to protect, who rush in without thinking in order to save the day because their very heart demands it._

 _No one ever talks about what that moment of rash, unthinking courage will cost. The price the hero will spend the rest of his life paying._

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Until the day he died, Izuku would never remember how he got loose of his mother's death-grip. All he could remember was watching the horror unfold one moment, then plunging into the flow of the mob the next with the singular thought of his friend's name ringing through his head.

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Izuku broke out of the crowd somehow, his feet carrying him _on-on-on_ even before his mind could fully register the sight his body had already processed as dangerous and unacceptable. the sight of Kacchan trapped with his back to a wall, hands desperately sparking in an effort to ward off the villain's reaching fingers.

It was the work of adrenaline, of desperation, to weave under the villain's outstretched arms, grab his friend-bully-idol by his shirt, and fling him out of the way just as large hands closed over Izuku's scrawny shoulders.

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 _People speak often and glowingly of the popular heroes, the ones who act without thinking, whose very instinct is to_ **protect** _. What they don't know is that most of those heroes do not have that instinct naturally. That a lot of the bravest heroes did not start out with that instinct, but had it imprinted on them by one singular moment. They are the ones who rush headlong into danger seemingly without fear because the alternative is to stand aside and let that moment happen all over again, and that is something_ **they cannot allow** _. The moment could be anything, from the loss of a parent to their first villain attack. Even just a moment where they experienced what it was like to be utterly helpless while someone else paid the price on their behalf. Whatever the moment, it is what drives them. It is what they hold tight to their heart and **remember** even as the public lauds them as fearless._

 _It is the truth that reminds them that they are not heroes. They are cowards, too afraid to risk letting something like The Moment happen ever again. Even if it costs them their lives._

 _._

 _._

For Bakugo Katsuki, that moment was when he went from staring death in the face to landing roughly on the pavement from where he'd been thrown to safety by the boy he'd bullied relentlessly for years. It was the moment, the eternity in time, when he watched helplessly as Midoriya Izuku - _the boy he had called useless, quirkless, stupid, **weak**_ \- took the attack meant for Katsuki and **screamed**.

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 **End of Preview. Welp there you go, and, before you ask or decide not to read the story because of it DEKU DOESN'T DIE IN THE NEW STORY. He just has to live with some ... interesting repercussions for his recklessness.**


	4. Chapter 3: Rain

**Hi all! Finally got away from college long enough to post this, I hope you all enjoy! Also, if I missed responding to your review, let me know and I'll get back to you, because I am not intentionally ignoring you, I'm just quietly losing my mind and have terrible organization/scheduling/remembering skills.**

 **Author's Note: Still working on the next chapter of AMOSC, still stuck on Ballad (getting there though). Not sure when I'll be able to update again but hopefully I'll get something else out within a reasonable time (no promises though). For the record, I thought that this chapter would be easy to write. I mean, Rains are the most easygoing element out there, so you would think they would be easy to interview for a chapter but NOPE. Good grief I have an easier time writing Katsuki and he's basically a humanoid, pyromaniac porcupine. Anyway, hopefully this chapter is enjoyable and all that.**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Boku No Hero Academia, KHR, or any references in this story. The only things I own are the plot and my interpretations of the characters.**

* * *

 **Chapter Three: Rain**

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When he looked back on it, it took an embarrassingly long time for Izuku to notice that Asui-san had Flames. But he supposed he could be excused, especially on that first day of school. He had been on the brink of being overwhelmed the moment he walked into the classroom. Everyone had been **staring** at him like he was some kind of celebrity or freak, which led to Kacchan picking a fight with Iida-kun to drag attention away from Izuku. Ochako-san —she had turned the teary puppy eyes on him every time he'd tried to call her Uraraka-san until he'd given in within three days— had only made it worse with her energy and excited commentary about how he'd destroyed the robot to save her.

Plus, his instincts had started pinging him the moment he walked into the classroom, trying to drag his attention simultaneously to two of his other classmates, Todoroki-san and Tokoyami-san —not that he'd known their names at the time— as they sat in the back and watched everything with blank expressions. Then of course there was their **sensei** , with his blank expression and freaky entrance and even more unnerving ability to sneak up behind Izuku without his notice —something that hadn't happened in years, not since he'd started placing absolute trust in his instincts—.

All in all, with so many colorful people in the class and so much to adjust to —including his bond with Ochako-san, because really, he had only become able to hold a coherent conversation with girl last year and now he was bonded to one via quirk—, it was easy to miss Asui-san. She was just so quiet and mild, not loud and obvious and full of energy like the only other two Flames he had ever encountered. She didn't brag, didn't pick fights, her quirk had nothing to do with energy or fire or the fundamental forces of nature. They hadn't even really spoken to each other outside of class pleasantries.

Until the day of the Villain Attack.

That day, when so many things changed. When so many things went wrong but also **right** and his life changed forever in an even bigger way than unlocking his Flames, was also the day he found his Rain.

They had been trapped on the boat, separated from their friends —and Kacchan and Ochako-san who were both furious and worried and driving Izuku half-insane over their bonds with their emotions on top of his own panic—, Mineta-kun had been screaming, they had been surrounded by Villains-

And then Asui-san had spoken up and everything had just … calmed. Izuku had felt it, the near-physical brush of something soothing against his fire, the way his purple fire- —no wait, Ochako-san had called them Cloud Flames— had stilled in surprise and his amber fire —no, Sky Flames, he had to remember the proper terminology— had reached out instinctively to reciprocate the feeling. Asui-san's words had faltered and she'd stared at him with surprise in her eyes, but the waves of calm —like raindrops on a pond and the clean tang of the air after a spring shower— had only intensified. Izuku had felt his muscles uncoil, his brain start moving again as he was able to push aside Kacchan's _rage-rage-burn-rage_ and Ochako-san's _panic-fear-fight_ and **think**.

The plan had been reckless and had relied far too heavily on how hard Izuku could throw the piece of ship wall he'd ripped free into the water to cause a shockwave while still maintaining a flight path with his Flames. Mineta-kun throwing hundreds of his sticky balls into the water that were then carried by the waves to the surprised villains while Asui-san jumped the two of them to safety had just been a stroke of surprising genius.

Then the lead villain —had to be the lead villain with the respect the others showed and the way Izuku's instincts **wailed** upon seeing him— with a quirk that disintegrated on touch had lashed out to kill Asui-san. Izuku's logical mind —the part that knew taking on an actual super-villain with a touch-based quirk in close combat was suicide— had shut down and everything had burned away under the resolve of _stop-him-stop-him-don't-touch-her-hurt-my-sensei-won't-let-you-hurt-her-too-_ and Izuku had struck with the instincts of a Cloud and a Sky combined.

.

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* * *

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Asui Tsuyu didn't consider herself to be anything special really. She was a girl with a frog quirk in a family full of frog quirks. She was a loving older sister who took care of her siblings as best she could whenever her parents were away —which was a lot, but she didn't blame them— and she was a good student who dreamed of becoming a pro-hero just like every other kid her age did.

Well, okay. The blue fire that had erupted from her body that one time and knocked out the burglar had broken into the house when Samidare was five and Satsuki was one and Tsuyu had been the only other person in the house was neither normal nor very frog-like.

But, it had kept her siblings safe without even waking them up. It was easy to adjust to and even easier to hide —because Tsuyu's parents had enough worries without their daughter having some kind of secondary quirk that let her knock people out with blue fire—, so she had simply told the police that the burglar had tripped over one of Samidare's toys in the kitchen and hit his head on the table hard enough to knock himself out. Which was mostly true.

The burglar **had** fallen over and hit his head very hard on the table as he went down, but that was only after Tsuyu had discovered him in the kitchen, panicked at the thought of the man getting closer to her siblings and _what-could-she-do-he'd-hurt-them-she-_ ** _wouldn't-let-him-_** and had knocked him out with her mysterious blue fire quirk. Samidare had left a little car toy out in the kitchen, so it wasn't that hard for Tsuyu to think up an excuse that the police believed.

Tsuyu had gone about her life as normal after that, with only minimal experimentation done with her blue fire quirk to make sure she didn't knock out her siblings or parents or classmates with it if she got stressed. Using just a teeny bit of the quirk turned out to do wonders when Samidare or Satsuki got too hyper or when some of her classmates started to get into a big fight, but that was as far as Tsuyu was ever willing to test her second quirk. She **liked** her first quirk and she wanted to become a pro-hero with that one. The second quirk was just a tiny, occasionally convenient bonus.

Then she'd met Midoriya-chan. She'd heard about him of course. The student who been hospitalized saving another examinee during the entrance exam and who had managed to break two school records with his score to boot. There were a lot of rumors going around about him already and it was only the first day of school. Some said that he was really strong and brave and super hot —the first two she could understand, but she didn't see how acing the exam made him as automatically gorgeous as the rumors implied—. Others said he was hideously burned from using his own quirk —which didn't make a ton of sense either, but hey—. Still others thought he was going to be an arrogant jerk that wanted to accumulate a mass harem, though that theory was only taken seriously by the boys for the most part.

One of the biggest theories was that he was Endeavor's secret illegitimate child who had joined U.A. to make his mark on the world and prove himself worthy of his estranged father's legacy. Or to get revenge on Endeavor for abandoning him and his mother, it depended on which motive the rumor-giver preferred at the time. That was the only theory Tsuyu was willing to give any thought on because, yeah, she could see it. She'd seen the leaked recordings of the fight with the robot and someone with a fire quirk that powerful could very well be the product of Endeavor succumbing to the cliche of rich superheroes having love affairs.

Which would make things very awkward if Midoriya-chan ended up in Class 1-A. Because she doubted Endeavor's already famous **legitimate** son would get along well with his supposedly illicit half-sibling, even if the rumor was false and they weren't actually related.

But then she met him and watched as he proved the majority of the theories wrong —and some of them right— within mere days of class. Midoriya-chan was very polite, with a quiet, unwavering confidence and determination that won over most of the class in an instant. He rarely raised his voice in anger, rarely got angry at all —probably a survival mechanism from being around Bakugo-chan all the time—. She wasn't surprised when he was made class rep, just like she wasn't surprised when Iida-kun was made vice-class rep. Midoriya-chan was friendly and nice and seemed to go out of his way to make friends with everyone in class. All in all, he was a person Tsuyu could like very easily.

If she wasn't secretly terrified of him.

His quirk wasn't like other fire quirks. Every time those warm orange flames flickered to life, her own blue flames begged to come pouring out, to meet the orange and do … something, she didn't know what. Her secondary quirk had never tried to slip out of her control before, never showed any negative effects of suppressing it and ignoring it until Midoriya-chan came along.

She was always incredibly relieved when they were not paired together during training, afraid that if they ever were, her blue fire would come rushing out and badly hurt somebody. Because if overdosing on sleep medication could kill a person, so could overusing a quirk that made people fall unconscious and Tsuyu was **not** willing to take that risk, no matter how nice Midoriya-chan was.

Of course, then villains had to attack and all the students were separated and Tsuyu ended up stuck on a boat that was surrounded by villains with Mineta-chan and **Midoriya**.

Everyone had been panicking —Tsuyu too, though she was better at not showing it—, Mineta-chan had been screaming and Midoriya-chan had looked like he was caught between crying and doing something stupid. Releasing part of her blue fire had been instinct, everyone had needed to calm down if they were to have a chance at escaping their predicament and her blue fire calmed down anyone in the right doses. But then Midoriya-chan had visibly faltered, staring at her in wonder and **knowing** and Tsuyu had felt something brush up softly, tentatively, against her blue fire quirk.

There had been no time for explanations on how or what or why. Only time for a mad escape plan that somehow worked and for Midoriya-chan to run off into bigger trouble with Tsuyu following him for reasons even she didn't know.

Tsuyu only remembered what happened next in fragments. Aizawa-sensei. The strange Nomu villain. The sensation of her heart racing and her stomach churning because there was _blood-so-much-blood-_. Fingers reaching for her face and her body freezing despite her mind screaming for her to move or fight or **do something**.

Then orange and purple fire wrapped tight and fierce around her core and the hand was gone and she could breathe again.

Tsuyu watched with wide, near-uncomprehending eyes as the air and water buckled under the force of Midoriya-chan's punch, the searing flames nearly blinding her eyes as her classmate howled something unintelligible that her blue fire somehow translated as _don't-touch-her-I'll-protect-her-get-away-get-away-!_ The flames shrank, contracting around Midoriya-chan's arms and Tsuyu stared from her snarling classmate to the villain rolling unsteadily to his feet.

The villain regained his balance and from behind the creepy hand clamped to his face, Tsuyu could see insanity-sharpened red eyes bore into Midoriya-chan, "Woah there, if I hadn't dodged in time, that could have killed me. That's not very **heroic** , now is it? That's not playing by the rules of the game, kid. That's cheating." His fingers snapped and the huge villain that had pounded Aizawa-sensei into the ground was suddenly in front of her, Midoriya-chan dangling by one arm from a meaty, bone-crushing hand, "And I **hate** cheaters."

Midoriya-chan cried out, fire flaring, and the sickening stench of burning flesh filled the air. Nomu didn't react, just raised his other hand, reaching out for Midoriya-chan's face like he had Aizawa-sensei's. Tsuyu lunged, tongue reaching out, hoping to snatch Midoriya-chan away before the villain broke him like he had broken Aizawa-sensei just as Midoriya-chan kicked the arm holding him with a purple coated leg and screamed, " **Put me down**!"

The shout punched through the air with as much power as the shockwave caused by his kick. Nomu faltered, part of his arm spasming under the force of the kick and fingers loosening around Midoriya-chan's arm as the villain made an inarticulate noise that sounded vaguely confused. Tsuyu took her chance, her tongue yanking Midoriya-chan free of the momentarily loosened grip. Nomu didn't pursue them, he just … stood there for a long moment, eyes rolling unnaturally in his skull like he was confused by something. The lead villain snarled, "What are you doing, Nomu? Kill that boy!" The eyes snapped back into focus and Nomu lunged for them again.

Tsuyu saw her life before her eyes, but then entrance to the facility suddenly buckled, smoke and debris billowing into the air, and everyone turned to face the sound.

Tsuyu could still remember the relief that poured through her at the sight and sound of All Might arriving, how she had thought their troubles were over and it would be okay. Years later she would look back on that thought and scoff quietly to herself. Because life with Midoriya-chan was **never** that simple.

It wasn't until after All Might had defeated the Nomu and Midoriya-chan had nearly gotten himself killed rushing to help All Might against the villains —even though All Might clearly hadn't needed help— **and** after everything had sort of settled down that Midoriya-chan and Tsuyu got to have a proper talk.

The talk took place on the rooftop, with Bakugo-chan and Ochako-chan both present because for some reason the three couldn't seem handle being more than five feet away from each other for anything less than a cataclysm —or one of them needing the restroom—. Tsuyu honestly hadn't thought Midoriya-chan could be more surprising than he'd been during the villain invasion. But she was wrong. Because finding out that her blue fire was actually part of an ancient symbiotic quirk set and that Midoriya-chan bore the quirk that was supposed to stabilize and call to the other quirks of that set was … yeah, mind-blowing.

So much for being a normal froggy girl from a normal froggy family with a —mostly— normal froggy quirk.

Midoriya-chan had made it very clear that he didn't want to push her into anything. If she wanted to become part of his "set" than she was more than welcome, but if she'd rather not, than he would leave her alone. He'd explained the benefits they'd discovered so far of being bonded —Ochako-chan and Bakugo-chan had pitched in with their experiences on that front— as well as the cons —which had also led to an explanation for Bakugo-chan's infamous homicidal clinginess—. Midoriya-chan had said that he would accept whatever decision she made.

Tsuyu had asked to think about it, because it was too much to take in at once and for all that she **did** like Midoriya-chan and admired his bravery —and maybe had a teeny crush after he'd saved her life— she still didn't want to rush into anything as big as this sounded without thinking it through first. Midoriya-chan had readily agreed, and the sincerity and patience in his voice had won him several more points in her mind. She'd meant to think it over for a week minimum, probably more. But apparently their quirks had had other ideas because two days later when Tsuyu had tracked down Midoriya-chan before anyone else arrived in class and shyly given him a bento as thanks for saving her life during the villain attack, their hands had brushed while he was taking the bento and something inside Tsuyu clicked.

It was wonderful. Clear and open and refreshing and welcoming all at once. It was like a long swim in a fresh lake during summer, or like one of Habuko-chan's big, lung-crushing hugs, or like …

Like coming home after a really bad day at school only to find all of her family there, her mother and father both back early from their jobs, waiting to greet her and her siblings waiting to play with her and all of them making her feel safe and warm and loved.

Tsuyu had to brace herself against Midoriya-chan's desk to keep from falling over from the sheer feeling of happy **relief** that went through her. Her blue fire —Ochako-chan had called them Rain Flames— unfurled like a big water lily blossom as she soaked in the sudden wave of home and love. She had glanced up, wide-eyed, at Midoriya-chan and saw such wonder and elation and **joy** in his sunshine smile that it took her breath away all over again —because that smile was for her, was **because of her** and when had anyone outside of her family or Habuko-chan looked at her like just seeing her made their day? Like she was something immeasurably precious?—.

Ochako-chan had whooped happily in the background, sunshine sparkles dancing off of her hands and hair while Bakugo-chan waded into Tsuyu's blooming Rain Flames with a casual flicker of bright red Storm to herd her away from Midoriya-chan's desk. He nudged her into the seat next to Midoriya-chan's that was usually occupied by someone else, citing that "Froggy needs to be nearby Deku as much as possible for a while or she'll start freaking the f*ck out and making people drop dead", before plopping down at his own desk in front of Midoriya-chan's like nothing had happened.

Midoriya-chan chuckled faintly at Bakugo-chan, then shot Tsuyu another brilliant smile that made any lingering doubts about what had just happened vanish. She had a faint inkling of the trouble Midoriya-chan would lead her into in the future, but right now, basking in the feeling of home and belonging she'd never known she needed, Tsuyu decided it would all be worth it.

.

* * *

 **Preview:** _While Izuku was willing to take the blame for Kacchan, Ochako-san, and Tsuyu-san -because he **had** been directly involved in the incidents that led to either their activation or their become friends with him-, the events leading up to Eijirō-kun joining their Element Set was all on Kacchan._

 _._

 _._

 _It started with Weird Hair ambling over to Katsuki after a hard session of combat training and complimenting the Storm on how powerful and "manly" his quirk and his ability to work with Sunny was. Katsuki, tired and irritable from being forced to work with Sunny -who was the living, breathing incarnation of rainbows, puppies, and sparkles even on a bad day-, promptly responded with a dark, "Drop dead, Weird Hair."_

 _Apparently, that was Manly-Weird-Hair-Speak for, "I think you're cool too, let's be friends."_


	5. Chapter 4: Lightning

**Author's Note: I liiiivvvee! And so does this story. And my other stories too, but I have pre-written chapters for this one, so it gets updated now rather than making everybody wait for however long it takes me to finish AMOSC's or Ballad's latest chapters (still working on them, pinky promise). Hope you enjoy this! The next chapter should be longer, though this one is arguably my favorite because Katsuki is just such a blast to write (no pun intended). Also, I'm still paranoid after that virus went around infecting author profiles, so for the moment, we're back to review response's in the chapter. At least until I stop feeling so utterly paranoid about losing my account.**

 **Also, I have an account on Ao3 (finally)! Not much up there yet, but I'll start crossposting when I have time and I hope to have my second BNHA AU going up soon (probably on Ao3 at first because it's so much easier to post on that site).**

 **Review Response: Dear Ryoji Mochizuki, greetings! Glad you think so! I hope you continue to enjoy!**

 **Dear AzureLazuli, hi there! Aw, thanks! I hope you enjoy Katsuki's POV!**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs, my character interpretations, and the plot.**

* * *

 **Chapter Four: Lightning**

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While Izuku was willing to take the blame for Kacchan, Ochako-san, and Tsuyu-san —because he **had** been directly involved in the incidents that led to either their activation or their becoming friends with him—, the events leading up to Eijirō-kun joining their Element Set was all on Kacchan.

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* * *

.

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It started with Weird Hair ambling over to Katsuki after a hard session of combat training and complimenting the Storm on how powerful and "manly" his quirk and his ability to work with Sunny was. Katsuki, tired and irritable from being forced to work Sunny, —who was a living, breathing incarnation of rainbows, puppies, and sparkles even on a bad day— promptly responded with a dark, "Drop dead, Weird Hair."

Apparently, that was Manly-Weird-Hair-Speak for "I think you're cool too, let's be friends".

Weird Hair began hanging around Katsuki whenever he had the opportunity. Chatting, laughing, and seeming generally —much to Katsuki's frustration— immune to the aura of bad attitude and death that Katsuki emitted around anyone that wasn't Deku —and Sunny by extension because Deku would make those f*ing kitten eyes of his if Katsuki made her cry—.

Of course, since Katsuki was busy keeping Deku from getting himself mauled to death or jumped by his growing fangirl club —that the nerd wasn't even aware of because of course he wasn't, it wasn't like he had **super instincts or anything** — ninety-eight percent of the time, that meant Weird Hair was there too.

Which was a pain because then Katsuki would have to find something to distract the idiot with every time Deku tried to research how his quirk interacted with his growing "symbiotic, inter-balancing quirks set" because Deku wanted that to be kept a secret as much as possible. Something Katsuki agreed with because who knew what villains —or even Pro Heroes— would do if they found out what Deku's quirk could do? Even Deku didn't know just how dangerous his quirk was, had no f*ing clue just how Deku's mere presence was enough to make Katsuki —and now Sunny— want to do **anything** to keep him happy and safe, even if it meant murdering the first jack*ss who looked at him wrong.

Katsuki had always said he wanted to be the top hero —and he still did— but somewhere along the way the reason had morphed from "be the most powerful and awesome" to "be strong enough to blow up **anyone** who threatens Deku". H*ll, after so many years bonded to him through their quirks, if Deku ever asked him to, Katsuki would turn villain in a heartbeat. And while Sunny and Froggy weren't quite to that level of loyalty, he was pretty sure they would at least consent to aiding and abetting the two of them.

But back to Weird Hair and his annoying clingy tendencies.

Katsuki tried his usual tried-and-true methods of running off a potential threat to Deku —yelling, screaming, curses, threats, insults— but it just … didn't work. It was like Weird Hair's quirk had turned his brain to rock or something, because the idiot just Had. No. Fear. Of anything. Katsuki could curse him six ways to Tokyo and back **and** insult all of his relatives and his progenitors in the process and all Weird Hair would do was pat Katsuki on the back and ask if Katsuki needed to eat something. Which … seriously? **Seriously**? What did Katsuki look like? Some kind of middle-school girl who needed chocolate and warm food and Midol to soothe her pain-induced temper?

Shut the hell up Deku, that was a f*ing rhetorical question, **stop laughing**.

He tried his less-usual-but-still-true methods —only less usual because Deku hated violence that he didn't deem 'necessary', never mind the fact that all of Katsuki's violence was necessary just **because** — next. He singled Weird Hair out in spars and training, going after him with the intent to pound him into the dirt each and every time with a ferocity that had all of the Extras cowering and evacuating the area.

But apparently even the Extras had better survival instincts than Weird Hair because repeatedly trying to turn his red-haired head into charred paste just made him even more clingy and cheerful afterward. Idiot kept going on about how "manly" Katsuki was —of course he was manly, he was a **guy** , not a male sunshine/kitten hybrid in human form like Deku— and how Katsuki was "really cool" for "helping him train the defensive abilities of his quirk so much" and that he was a "real friend despite his angry exterior".

Which … just … what even…? **How** did repeatedly trying to hospitalize someone make you their friend with their best interests at heart? Seriously, how? Even **Sunny** knew better than that and he'd only tried to hospitalize her twice on principle —to make sure she wouldn't slow Deku or Katsuki down or endanger Deku. Turned out the girl had a mean right hook when she wanted to use it—.

He would have gone to his third and last fallback —grievous bodily harm and genuine death threats behind the school bleachers— except somehow **Deku** had come to the —mistaken— conclusion that Katsuki **liked** the idiot Weird Hair and was so d*mn proud of Katsuki for making a new friend for the first time in years and would Katsuki like to extend an open invitation to Weird Hair to have lunch on the rooftop with them —cue kitten eyes and sunshine sparkles—?

… Katsuki had grudgingly slacked off on his threats, curses, and insults after that. Because if Weird Hair was enough of a human barnacle that even Deku —who shared an empathic bond with Katsuki— mistook Katsuki's efforts as overtures of friendship, then there was really nothing Katsuki could do to get rid of him at that point short of killing Weird Hair and hiding his body in a dumpster somewhere. Which was not something a Pro Hero would do. And would have Deku making disappointed faces at him for months.

F*ck. How was this his life again?

With great irritation and snarling, Katsuki shifted his efforts to training Weird Hair instead of running him off. Because if he was going to hang around Katsuki —and by important extension Deku— he might as well be useful. Thankfully for what remained of Katsuki's thin patience, Weird Hair was much easier to train than to scare off. Within two weeks of training, he had successfully taught Weird Hair to Fetch, Sit, Shake Hands, High Five, Keep Lookout —useful against nosy teachers and rabid fangirls—, and Distract —in case the fangirls got too close to Deku—. Katsuki was still working on Be Quiet, Roll Over, Drop Dead, and Sic 'Em, but he hoped to have Weird Hair fully trained by the end of his second high school year.

Shut up Deku, he was not treating Weird Hair like a dog instead of a person, he treated everybody like this. It was the dogs that got the treats, not the people.

Sunny had already mastered the basics and was surprisingly amendable to learning more advanced tricks like Hide Deku and the advanced variants of Sic 'Em —namely Death to Fangirls, Protect Deku, and various combat takedowns that made Sic 'Em so much more effective on villains and sparring opponents—. The fact that everyone else looked at her sunshine face and dopey smile and automatically labeled her as harmless only made it easier and more satisfying for Katsuki to teach her tricks. The looks she got when she flattened someone in training or cheerfully informed an especially annoying fangirl of exactly how easy it would be to remove someone's larynx with a cafeteria spoon were priceless.

But back to Weird Hair's training. It was going well, all things considered. Because Weird Hair responded very well to positive reinforcement and the idiot seemed to consider **anything** coming from Katsuki to be positive reinforcement. So really, school life was actually tolerable. He had help herding Deku out of trouble —Deku was a magnet for fanatics and crazy coincidences, always had been—, Sunny was shaping up to be a perfect undercover bodyguard, and Weird Hair was … surprisingly fun to be around once Katsuki adjusted to Weird Hair's "manliness" lingo. Katsuki could almost convince himself that their school year was going to be **normal** for once.

So, of course, Karma had to come in and remind him that she was a b*tch who thought she could make Deku her chew toy.

Because why else would an **army of villains** manage to break into the most **secure hero school in the world** , just when there were a bunch of students there and only two actual Pro Heroes to keep the Extras safe? And, oh yeah, on top of that, the Warp Villain managed to separate him from both Sunny and Deku just before Katsuki could blow him up, leaving Katsuki with only Weird Hair for company and Deku freaking the f*ck out with only the Token Perv and Froggy as backup.

That might have worked out just fine, actually, because Deku was brilliant when he stopped hyperventilating and Weird Hair could actually pull his weight in a fight. But then Deku had to go and get involved in a fight against the Boss Villain and Warp Guy **and** a giant Murder Crow Minion who was almost as strong and fast as All Might in order to save Froggy and Eraser Head. Then, after nearly getting killed by Murder Crow Minion and being saved by All Might showing up, Deku had to go and get involved **again** because All Might was having trouble fighting Murder Crow Minion and hey, why not help out? Deku was only an **untrained fifteen-year-old who barely had two weeks of hero training** , he could totally hold his own and turn the tide against a villain strong enough to make the Number One Hero pause. Totally.

Shut up Deku, he was not overreacting. And no, hitting Warp Guy with his explosive red fire quirk because the guy was trying to pin down All Might was **not the same thing**.

Anyway, Deku went in with his Flames blazing and managed to help All Might without anybody dying —Katsuki actually had Half-N-Half's ice quirk to thank for that, much to his annoyance—. And yes, Deku did —probably— save All Might's life by throwing up a wall of flame when Boss Villain was about to attack All Might again because apparently All Might had taken a bad enough hit a few years ago that he couldn't use his own quirk for very long and was secretly tapped out from fighting Murder Crow Minion.

But Deku's heroics —idiocy— led to him seeing All Might's "true form" —also known as Zombie-Might—. Which, on top of Deku's judicious use of fire, led to All Might offering Deku a chance to inherit his quirk —by eating hair what-the-h*ll— and become the new Symbol of Peace. Which Deku did because **of course** he did, he was a bigger fan of All Might than Katsuki, of course he would say yes.

And —fun fact— it turned out a foreign quirk with the power to level buildings didn't mesh well with Deku's instinctive use of Cloud Flames —only the natural durability boost of Cloud Flames kept Deku from shattering his own bones, but he did fracture them—, which meant that Deku's ability to defend himself was effectively halved until he got his new quirk under control.

While having to train for the upcoming Hero Festival.

And also helping Froggy figure out how to use her Rain Flames on the field without making anyone drop dead.

And keeping an eye out for angry villains who would definitely be coming to kill All Might and his new successor once they figured out All Might had a successor —which they would, Katsuki just knew it—.

Which left a majorly panicking Katsuki stuck in the middle of this entire cl*st*rf*ck, trying to figure out how he was going to keep his idiot Sky alive long enough to graduate high school with only Sunny and Froggy as backup.

F*ck his life. Just … f*ck his life.

If only he could get Deku some kind of shield, one that Deku would actually consent to keeping near or on his person at all times —because apparently permanent body-armor was for the paranoid, stupid-stupid-stupid-Deku!—, one that Deku would be able to use in time to protect himself. Or better yet, one that could somehow just **be there** to protect Deku from danger until he could get his new quirk under control, one that wouldn't have to be reliant on Deku's f*ed up sense of self-preservation-

Wait.

Weird Hair had a hardening quirk. Weird Hair enjoyed following Katsuki everywhere. Deku trusted Weird Hair and enjoyed having people around. Weird Hair thought protecting people was "manly". Maybe he could… No. That wouldn't work. Weird Hair would have to be one of Deku's Elements for Deku to truly keep him around as much as possible, and Weird Hair didn't have any Dying Will Flame- Wait. Dying Will. Katsuki remembered Sunny talking about how in the old days, people unlocked one of the seven original quirks only when they were in mortal peril, thus the name Dying Will Flames. According to Sunny's grandma, back then, anyone could activate a Flame quirk, all they had to be was just too d*mn stubborn to die.

Weird Hair was easily the most stubborn he'd ever met outside of Deku or himself.

Hmmmm….

.

.

It took a week and two days to finally corner Weird Hair in a spacious, target rich training ground without any hero supervision, but Weird Hair was eager to train for the UA sports festival, the heroes were busy prepping external security, and Katsuki had intentionally been on his best behavior. Funnily enough, for all of his rock-headed stupidity earlier, it only took about twenty seconds for Weird Hair to figure out that Katsuki was genuinely trying to kill him this time —which was still a long time in fighting terms, but, meh—.

After much shouting —Katsuki—, yowling —Weird Hair—, explosions —Katsuki—, confused pleading —Weird Hair—, and a rockslide —Katsuki honestly hadn't meant to do that, the rocks were just to d*mn fragile when pitted against his explosions—, Weird Hair lit up the landscape with bright green lightning that skittered across his hardened skin and repelled the deluge of rocks and debris Katsuki had accidentally called down.

Katsuki immediately stopped attacking and stared at Weird Hair's Dying Will Flames, examining the skittering green overlapped with just a few hints of Froggy's familiar wavy blue in satisfied fascination. So Weird Hair was actually like Deku and had two Flames. Huh. Not as even a balance though, but apparently Deku's ability to call up two Flames that were almost equally strong was extremely rare so whatever.

Katsuki ambled over to Weird Hair, soothed the terrified sputtering and flinching with several gentle pats on the rock-like head and a cherry lollipop —because just this once, he would break the no-giving-people-treats rule, Weird Hair deserved it—, and herded him off to Deku for Harmonization. Deku, upon seeing the randomly sparking, lollipop-chomping, still freaked-out Weird Hair, swooped in and did exactly what Katsuki expected him to: explain everything in soothing words and get that dopey look on his face when Weird Hair Harmonized with him point six seconds after the explanation. Pleased beyond words —Deku had a living shield now, he might actually manage to live past age sixteen—, Katsuki allowed Weird Hair to yell at him —for scaring him so badly— and thank him —for seeing such manly potential in him and helping him achieve it—.

Katsuki actually felt guilty over that last bit. Because Weird Hair was just so … forgiving. And, yeah, okay, maybe Katsuki was more attached to Weird Hair than he'd thought. Because now that the crippling tunnel vision of "protect Deku from his own stupidity" was wearing off, he did actually feel terrible about putting Weird Hair in that much danger. So terrible that he didn't protest to Deku's blistering lecture about "not abusing his friends" and "not forcing people to join Deku's Element Set".

But then, Weird Hair really, really liked being part of a "secret superhero team" and really enjoyed how much stronger his Lightning Flames made his quirk so it was fine right? It all worked out just fine in the end and now Deku had another part of the original, long-lost quirk set to play around with. Only two more to go-.

Ow. Ow. Deku- Deku stop. He meant that Deku would find the last two naturally, he didn't mean- ow. Seriously, he was going to start hitting back if Deku didn't stop- no, f*ck, kitten eyes were worse, **Deku-**

F*ck. Fine. **Fine**. He promised not to go off and near-murder any of the other Extras in order to expand his roster of allies in keeping Deku's *ss alive —even if it would make Katsuki's blood pressure so much easier to maintain—. There. Happy?

It turned out that no, Deku was not happy. But he had a new Flame to train on top of All Might's quirk and the UA Sports Festival coming up and Katsuki knew exactly what kind of stuff to cook —don't laugh, Storm Flames made a killer barbecue— to bribe his Sky with so he figured Deku would get over eventually.

.

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* * *

 **Preview:** _Shōto's eyes flicked over Midoriya's body, taking in the shaking muscles, the pained curl of the fingers, the blooming red color up the hands and wrists like massive bruises. A breathless noise escaped him, "What, you're that beat up from defending and running away?" Green hair shadowed Midoriya's face, revealing only gritted teeth and shaking shoulders and Shōto huffed and slammed down hard on the instinct in his head that was screaming to_ stop-stop-don't-hurt-him, _"Sorry,"_ for you getting hurt going against me, for you having to bear the same curse I do even though you choose to flaunt it, _"But thanks too, Midoriya. That Guy's face is clouded over thanks to you."_

 _Endeavor was scowling, furious and -just maybe- uneasy as the sight of someone with such a recognizable quirk -his quirk, his faithlessness- getting so injured against "mere ice". Midoriya didn't answer and Shōto eyed the massive bruises on both of Midoriya's arms, ones that hinted at potential bone fractures if the fight didn't stop soon, "You can't fight anymore like that without risking severe injury. Let's finish this already." Ice lashed out, angry and victorious._ See, Old Man? Your quirk is nothing-

 ** _"Where are you_ _looking_** _?"_ _Fire. Fire everywhere. It curled and roared, consuming his ice as greedily as it would dry wood, blasting hot air in his face and sending him skidding backward uncontrollably despite the ice bracing his back. Power thundered across his senses, pushing and snarling and blazing, driving him back-back-back until he barely managed to stop himself just in front of the arena boundary._

 _Steam billowed clear. Gray and blue eyes finally rose to meet his opponent's gaze ... and faltered, breath stolen, at the startling violet flecked amber that **burned** into his core instead of familiar green._


	6. Chapter 5: Mist

**Eeeyyyy! I return! Still stuck on Ballad (Hibari why are you such a pain to write) but I figured I should at least update this story since I had a prewritten chapter that I finally finished editing. Hope you enjoy it!**

 **Review** **Response: Dear AyameKitsune, hello there! Thanks! I hope you enjoy this new installment!**

 **Dear Shadow Phoenix 16, greetings! That was my first impression too, but he's actually not. I'll explain down in the Author's Note.**

 **Dear s082829, hey there! Well, this is Katsuki. He almost never refers to anybody by their name out loud, why would he do it in his head?**

 **Dear Dragon Lord Draco, hi! Not quite. When Flame users get extremely excited/tense/angry/insert-strong-emotion-here, their eyes tend to glow and change color to that of their Flame. Something of a color-coded warning system. He isn't gaining new abilities per se, just refining his current ones and inventing new ones as he gets more experience with them.**

 **Dear Snickering Fox, hello! Yep. Cloudy Sky. Isn't it wonderful? All will be explained in this chapter, never fear.**

 **Dear Dragon Courage, heya! Hope you enjoy this new chapter! I know, I love writing Katsuki, he's such a hoot.**

 **Dear Guest, greetings! Glad you like it! Oh. Ooohhhh I didn't think of that but it WOULD FIT SO WELL. I already have someone else picked out for Izuku's first Mist, but Sky's can adopt more than one person of each element so maybe... hmm. I'll think about it. Thanks for the suggestion!**

 **Dear Kurasabe, hey there! Yes. Yes we do. I'll see if I can swing it in later chapters.**

 **Dear ReadingPotatoe, hello! (Tips hat) Thank you, I tried. Katsuki's just great sometimes isn't he?**

 **Dear bladetri, hiya! Happy to hear it!**

 **Dear Blitza, hello! I hope it lives up to expectations. I haven't written a chapter this long in a while.**

 **Dear just yuki, greetings! Actually, no. I'll explain in the Author's Note why, but good guess anyway!**

 **Dear vampireharry the 2, hello there! Glad to hear it! Hope you enjoy the update!**

 **Author's Note: Okay, so. A lot of you were/are expecting Todoroki to be a Cloud. He's not. Let me explain my reasoning: Now, while I do agree that he COULD have been a Cloud, especially if raised in the right household, the biggest, most important thing to a Cloud is freedom. If they don't get it then they either suffocate or go crazy. Endeavor's heavy expectations, abuse, and general (non)parenting is about as far from "freedom" as you can get without breaking out the actual ball and chain. If Todoroki had been a Cloud, then he would have either committed suicide or snapped and gone villain long before he ever met Midoriya. So I'm instead making him the next best thing, a Mist. Why? Because Mists can be just as anti-social and reserved as Clouds, are just as stubborn, and very importantly, are spiteful beyond belief. Refusing to use half of their abilities even in life-threatening situations (Villain Invasion) just to tick off a hated authority figure WHO ISN'T EVEN THERE? That's 1000% Mist behavior. Then, after being talked into using those abilities, turning right around and going back to the abuser to learn from him because that's the most tactically efficient thing? Also 1000% Mist. A Cloud in that situation, assuming they didn't snap years ago, would have gone to literally anybody else to learn their abilities rather than go back to the person who chained them and abused them for so long. Or would even have just said "screw training" and figured it out on their own rather than risk being forced to do stuff they didn't want to do. OR, more likely, would never have been talked into using those abilities, not even if it killed them because Clouds are bullheaded like that. Ergo, Shōto is a Mist in this story.**

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 **Chapter Five: Mist**

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Shōto wasn't sure what to make of Midoriya.

He had been fully prepared to hate the boy. Had even managed it at first. Because the sheer power and nature of the fire quirk Midoriya had displayed on the leaked footage of his entrance exam was unmistakable as anything other than a product of Endeavor's genes. The boy's mere existence was proof that not only had his father been cruel to his mother, but also completely unfaithful.

Shōto had known that was the case for years. Everyone in the family had known what all those nights spent "working late at the office" really were —Shōto had called the office a few times, just to be sure, and had been told that his father was "out patrolling", yet the media never spotted him on the streets those nights—. But to have living, breathing proof not only go to the same school as Shōto, but be in the same class? Intolerable. Utterly intolerable. Shōto still wasn't sure how he managed to stay civil with the boy —far too cheerful and smiley, pretending to be shy despite the attention-grabbing charisma coming off of him like heatwaves— that first day. He could only assume it was because he hadn't actually had to **talk** to the living proof of his father's faithlessness.

So yes, he'd been fully prepared to hate Midoriya. The boy who flaunted the power that had taken Shōto's mother from him and smiled all the while, who acted as if he was completely oblivious to exactly what he represented to Shōto…

And then, just after the Villain Invasion, he'd figured out that Midoriya wasn't pretending to be a sweet, shy, openly —naively— helpful classmate who just wanted everyone to get along. That he wasn't self-deprecating out of humor or a bid to garner more fans —he had already converted most of the class within a week—, his stammer when startled wasn't false, and he wasn't pretending to be oblivious to all of the rumors buzzing around the school of who his father really was.

Midoriya wasn't pretending. Midoriya just … was.

There was no other way to describe it. Midoriya just **was**. Like a jet-stream or the laws of gravity or the turning of the tides. There was no explaining it, but also no avoiding or circumventing it. He really was a kind, shy, open book who wore his heart on his sleeve and had the most ridiculously —potentially psychopathically— overprotective childhood friend ever and attracted people to his presence like flies to honey without even realizing it.

He was also insanely strong, beyond even Shōto's expectations of someone with Endeavor's quirk.

Shōto could still recall the Villain Invasion —the first inkling he'd had that Midoriya was so much more than his rumored bloodline—, still taste the smoke in the air and feel the roar of heat as Midoriya —a boy without anywhere near Shōto's level of training let alone a Pro Hero— launched himself at the lead villain in defense of All Might. The fear had been so obvious in his eyes, in his voice, in his body. Yet Midoriya had hurled himself into the battle with barely a moment's hesitation, going straight for the source of the problem with fire —orange and purple, so hot Shōto could feel it from yards away— dancing up his arms as he strove to protect his fellow students and the hero he looked up to most —even though All Might surely hadn't needed more than a quick assist out of that warp portal earlier—.

Afterward, when the villains were rounded up and everyone released from the nurse's office, Midoriya —and by extension his shadow Bakugo— had been taken aside by the teachers for several hours. Midoriya had emerged from the meeting subdued and quiet and that moment had been the first time Shōto could remember feeling a pang of concern for the other boy.

He didn't act on the concern, stayed quiet and distant like he always had before. Because Midoriya had basically the entire class wrapped around his finger, especially his friend Bakugo and Uraraka, They would shower him with more than enough concern and affection. Besides, the U.A. Sports Festival was still coming up fast and he had to train for it —had to drive himself harder, ensure that he could not only win but **dominate** the competition without using his fire half—.

But, strangely enough, now that he had noticed Midoriya in a more positive light, he couldn't seem to stop paying attention to him. He watched Midoriya in training and for the first time saw —really saw— how well he worked with anyone he was paired with. Not just his friends, but any member of the class. He took the lead, but not by being pushy or demanding. It was just because he usually came up with good ideas first —ideas that incorporated both him and his teammate equally— and presented them in a friendly, helpful manner that most of the class couldn't resist going along with. Shōto had yet to end up paired with him during any training —he suspected that the teachers were keeping them apart because of their obvious shared parentage—, but watching on the videos or from the other side of the exercise was … different now.

Midoriya didn't lead like Endeavor did, all charisma and command and overpowering temper that forced people into line. Midoriya led by doing and by asking. People fell into line with Midoriya because it was just … natural. It looked as easy as breathing, as natural as gravity. Midoriya took not just the quirk of his partner into account, but the **person** as well. He never forced them to have a part in a plan that made them too uncomfortable, was always open to any suggestions they might have and then explained why the idea would or wouldn't work. Shōto watched over the two weeks until the Sports Festival and wondered how he had never noticed that before.

Of course, it didn't stop him from planning to give his all against Midoriya during the Festival, or from personally challenging Midoriya —which nearly got his head blown off by a screaming, overprotective, and over-competitive Bakugo—. It also didn't stop him from noticing the lack of purple in Midoriya's fire during the first challenge as he leapt and wove and flew through the obstacles to take first place in the competition, mere feet in front of Shōto himself and Bakugo.

The Cavalry Battle had been eye opening. He'd thought he understood how Midoriya would react and plan —with a fire quirk that powerful and a best friend that violent, surely there were only so many courses of action to take?— but instead Midoriya had gathered his closest companions —Bakugo, Uraraka, and Kirishima— and … run away. For the majority of the battle. Uraraka's quirk had lightened them and increased their speed, Kirishima's quirk had allowed them to bull straight through anyone who got in their way and Bakugo and Midoriya's quirk had kept all but the most reckless at bay.

Shōto's team had been the only ones to offer them any kind of competition, the only ones to keep up and successfully corner them. Yet by the end of it, Shōto still failed to successfully retrieve Midoriya's headband and instead found himself shaken and dazed, barely aware of Midnight's announcements as he stared at his left hand and wondered what had just happened.

Midoriya had called to Shōto's fire. It … it didn't make sense, but there was no other way to describe it. He had been inches away from grabbing Midoriya's headband and Midoriya had burst into defensive flames, catching Shōto's arm in its blast range. Shōto had made to snatch his hand away, already bracing for the _heat-pain-pain-pain_ of being burned-

He hadn't burned.

The pain hadn't come.

Instead, warmth —like sunshine and arms around him that he knew and loved but couldn't remember— had curled around his fingers and his own fire had lurched under his skin in response to some kind of primal sensation of _warmth-home-free-kind-who-who?_ The terror of feeling his fire side fight his control for the first time in years had snatched his hand away, empty of the band he had wanted so badly. The feeling —the call— had faded immediately, but the memory of it left Shōto feeling shaken and stunned.

From the looks Midoriya kept sending him, Shōto realized that Midoriya had felt … something too.

He tried to ignore it. Forget about the feeling until after the Festival, focus on the various one-on-one matches yet to occur —Midoriya's had been baffling and terrifying somehow, even though he'd won in the end—, but he couldn't. Even the fury and hatred stirred up in him by being ambushed in the halls by Endeavor could not bury the persistent niggling of memory, of curiosity, sparked by what he had felt when he'd come in contact with Midoriya's fire.

He went through his own first match in a daze. Mulled over the mystery in the back of his mind even as he overpowered Class B's Monoma with his mother's ice —ignoring the tingle in his left arm, the desire to use it that had been buried the same night his mother had scalded his face—. Fire burned. He had **seen** Midoriya's fire turn things to ash if he tried, felt its heat during the Villain Invasion. So why hadn't his arm burned? His arm had been **right there** inside the fire —no matter what Present Mic or the audience thought—, yet his arm was unburned and all he'd felt was that … pull.

At first he'd wondered if it was because of their shared bloodline. He had his father's quirk, no matter how much he ignored it, and Midoriya's quirk was clearly much stronger than any of Shōto's legitimate siblings' quirks. Maybe it was some kind of … sense of kinship, acknowledgement of shared origin and power? But that didn't sound right. Endeavor had turned his quirk on Shōto many times during training and there had **never** been any sense of kinship or any lack of heat from those sessions. So why?

The questions harassed his mind. They drove him to talk to Midoriya in the relative privacy of the hallway —the boy for once without his bodyguard/friend Bakugo—. But the conversation had shed no light on the subject and Shōto had instead found himself —for reasons he didn't question too closely— revealing his past and his motivations to Midoriya instead of demanding answers. Then he had realized what he'd done and fled when it looked as if Midoriya was about to say something —with that look in his eyes that his mother used to have, that look he couldn't name or stand to be on the receiving end of anymore—.

He hadn't gone back to the stands after that. Hadn't had the stomach or attention span to watch his classmates go up against either each other or the surviving team of Class B. He barely heard Present Mic get lectured by Aizawa during Bakugo's battle against Uraraka. He stayed in one of the preparation rooms, staring at his left hand and just … breathing. Wondering. Brooding.

By the time he was standing across from Midoriya in the ring, he couldn't tell if the knot that had formed in his stomach was hatred —for the boy who dared flourish with Endeavor's quirk, for the boy who made his fire side come back to life and yet was so gentle and open— or hatred for himself —that he couldn't stop judging Midoriya for something he couldn't help, for not being able to control his fire side like he wanted—. He looked across the arena, saw something burning in Midoriya's eyes —something that turned usually soft green hard as a knife's edge and as bright as lightning— and knew that this was a fight he would have to end in an instant or he would lose —and he wouldn't lose to Endeavor's quirk, he **wouldn't** , not even if it was Midoriya using it—.

Present Mic screamed for the match to start and Shōto's ice lunged forward to catch Midoriya, to end it before he could summon his fire-

His ice exploded in a clash of blue and amber and purple, blowing steam and mist back into his face. Midoriya stood in the same place as when they'd started, his hand cradling his wrist and looking both stubborn and pained. Shōto snarled quietly. That strange strength Midoriya had used before and during the Villain Invasion was back just when he didn't want it to be. Another blast of ice, another roar of fire and strength that turned it to billowing steam. Another, another, **another**. Shōto shook from adrenaline and the building emotion of … something. Something desperate that clawed at his veins and screamed through his head, demanded he stand. Fight. **Win**. At all costs if necessary.

With each blast of ice, Shōto's body grew colder, with each retaliatory blast of fire, Midoriya's hands took on a shakier, redder tinge of injury. Shōto cursed breathlessly after the sixth or seventh attempt, Midoriya was trying to turn the match into an endurance contest. He threw out another blast of ice to distract Midoriya and then ran, an ice ramp forming beneath his feet to get him up and behind-

Fire roared beneath him, turning his ice to steam beneath his feet just as he jumped clear —the fire was so hot, so hot and yet Shōto still didn't feel the sear of burns through his shoes or blisters on his skin from close proximity why-why-why— and slammed an ice-coated fist into the ground where Midoriya had been standing moments earlier. He tried to send the ice chasing after Midoriya as the boy bounded away. He saw ice catch and creep up one ankle and tasted victory —over that cursed fire, over Endeavor for everything he had done and tried to make Shōto do— for just a moment before his world turned to orange, purple, and steam **again** , this time with enough force to send him skidding across the arena. Shōto hissed and pushed down the instinctive fear that tried to overtake his senses as he was resisted. Pushed away the flashing memories of _fire-too-close-too-close-where-no-stop-please-please-_ that tried to smother him.

Ice curled at his back, protective and bracing as he slid to a stop. He flung a slushy ice pillar away from his body, "Are you trying to tell me … to stay away?" _It won't work. I won't let you, I will win this, I will_ ** _beat you-_**

Shōto's eyes flicked over Midoriya's body, taking in the shaking muscles, the pained curl of the fingers, the blooming of red color up the hands and wrists like massive bruises. A breathless noise escaped him, "What, you're that beat up from defending and running away?" Green hair shadowed Midoriya's face, revealing only gritted teeth and shaking shoulders and Shōto huffed and slammed down hard on the instinct in his head that was screaming to _stop-stop-don't-hurt-him_ , "…Sorry," _for you getting hurt going against me, for you having to bear the same curse I do even though you choose to flaunt it,_ "But thanks too, Midoriya. That Guy's face is clouded over thanks to you."

In the stands, Endeavor was scowling, furious and —just maybe— uneasy at the sight of someone with such a recognizable quirk —his quirk, his faithlessness— getting so injured against mere ice. Midoriya didn't answer, and Shōto eyed the massive bruises on both of Midoriya's arms, ones that hinted at potential bone fractures if the fight didn't stop soon, "You can't fight anymore like that without risking severe injury. Let's finish this already."

Ice lashed out, rising hungry and victorious. _See, Old Man? Your quirk is nothing-_

" **Where are you looking**?" Fire. Fire everywhere. It curled and roared, consuming his ice as greedily as it would dry wood, blasting hot air in his face and sending him skidding backward uncontrollably despite the ice bracing his back. Power thundered across his senses, pushing and snarling and blazing, driving him back-back-back until he barely managed to stop himself just in front of the arena boundary.

Steam billowed clear. Gray and blue eyes finally rose to meet his opponent's gaze … and faltered, breath stolen, at the startling absence of bright green. Instead, blazing amber intertwined with flecks of deep violet **burned** into his core, even hotter than the fire Shōto hated, brighter than any flame he had seen before, even during the Villain Invasion. Shōto stared, mouth dry and heart pounding as Midoriya straightened up, fire licking at his shoulders and the tips of his hair, curling down his shaking red and purple hands like claws, "You… even with your arms…" Shōto hissed quietly through his teeth, trying not to show how rattled those eyes made him feel, "Why are you going so far?"

"You're trembling Todoroki-kun." Midoriya raised one hand towards his chest, cupping pulsing fire in his palm like a heartbeat, "Quirks … are physical abilities too. There's a limit to how much cold your body can take … isn't there?"

Shōto stiffened, teeth locked tight, heart in his ears as Midoriya said what Shōto knew he was about to say, what he **didn't want to hear** , not from **Midoriya** , "Isn't that something you could solve by using the heat from your left side?"

"Shut up," Shōto breathed, though whether it was to Midoriya or the screaming desire in his head to use his fire side that had been clamoring ever since the Cavalry Battle, he wasn't sure. "I'm not going to use it. I'm **never** going to use it. I'll win with just my mother's quirk, I'll-"

Midoriya stared him down, nostrils flared with clear pain, " **Coward**." Shōto's jaw snapped shut in shock. Shock at the insult, shock at hearing that much fury and scorn from **Midoriya** of all people, shock at how much it hurt to hear that directed at him. Midoriya held the pulsing fire out toward Shōto like an offering, an example, "Everyone here is fighting with everything they have. They're struggling with **everything they have** to win and get closer to their dream … to become Number One … and you want to win with just **half your strength**?" Midoriya flung his shoulders back and bared his teeth, something wild and dangerous and furious that Shōto had never seen before vibrating from every edge of Midoriya's being as he flung his arms out from his sides in challenge, " **You haven't even put a single scratch on me yet**! So you want to become **Number One**? Then come at me with **everything you've got**!"

Shōto felt rage flood his veins, "Midoriya… What are you planning?" Because how **dare he** say that like he understood how Shōto felt? How it felt to see a quirk ruin and destroy lives and know that same thing was inside you? A monster beneath the skin, waiting to make him exactly like the man he got it from? How dare Midoriya act like somehow **Shōto** was at fault? Was wrong for holding back his fire and denying his old man the satisfaction of seeing his quirk used to become the best at last? "Everything I've got? Did my d*mn Old Man buy you off or something?" He wouldn't put it past the Old Man, to either buy Midoriya off or threaten him somehow —because even an illegitimate child had to have a mother and everyone in class knew that Midoriya loved his unconditionally and there were so many things Endeavor could do with that kind of leverage—.

Fury crested and overflowed —at Midoriya, at himself, at Endeavor— and Shōto was charging Midoriya before he was even aware his legs were moving. His thoughts kicked back in, bringing with it a flash of strategy, _Get in close, let my ice clash with his fire, then use the steam as cover for a punch. When he's stunned by the punch, use another ice blast that will carry him out of the arena._ He lunged, out reaching out and body bracing for the inevitable rush of fire-

Instead, Midoriya lunged to meet him head on, his bruised fist slamming deep into Shōto's gut with enough force to send him flying the same way the fire previously had. Present Mic was screaming something to the audience, but Shōto couldn't hear him, was too busy dragging himself to his feet and lunging for Midoriya again. He felt a flash of satisfaction at the sight of his ice wrapped around one of Midoriya's arms, followed by an intense burst of guilt that he couldn't place or name the origin of. The guilt made him angrier —because he had no reason to feel guilty, **none** — and Shōto temporarily abandoned his ice in favor of his fists and feet, flying at Midoriya with all of the martial skill his Old Man had beaten into him.

Midoriya retaliated in kind, a veritable whirlwind of basic stances mixed with a nonsensical fighting style that could —at best— be considered street fighting techniques. Shōto targeted Midoriya's hands as much as the usual vital spots and refused to admit to the flashes of guilt and distress that bit him with every wince and restrained noise of pain Midoriya made. Midoriya was fast and tricky and almost impossible to catch off guard, but he wasn't trained like Shōto, wasn't as experienced. Finally, Shōto got too close to landing a hit on Midoriya's face —and those burning eyes, still brilliant and defiant despite his injuries— and a rush of fire warned him away.

 _Why?_ Shōto lashed out with a blast of ice and grit his teeth when Midoriya danced aside. He followed up his ice with a lunge, ice crackling from his leg, trying to either catch Midoriya or force him to slip only to be thrown back into one of his previous —slowly melting— ice walls by a flair of violet fire that still refused to burn him. Midoriya suddenly made a choked off noise and briefly doubled over, eyes wide with clear pain as he clutched his purpling arm. _You're own strength injures you when it's overused. So then why…?_

 _"_ _All Might,"_ breathed Midoriya's voice in his head from what already felt like a lifetime ago, an idle question in between classes in a grudging effort to understand the half-sibling who was always so cheerful, _"I want to be like him. I want to protect people with a smile like he does. In order to do that, I have to be strong enough to become Number One. My motivation might seem trivial, especially compared to some people…"_

He saw Midoriya's smile toward one of his close friends in his mind's eye, saw it overlay with another smile from years ago as warmth danced in the corners of Shōto's mind. The images, the feelings, tugged and whispered of acceptance and home and caring that he refused to admit he missed and he lashed out. _Why do you remind me…? Why…?_

Ice roared upward and outward, angry and strong. It was blown away by a blast of fire, but over the roar of flames and steam, Shōto clearly heard a reverberating, brittle snap sound that was far too familiar and brought up memories of private doctors paid off by his father, of weeks that should have been spent recovering instead spent training past the pain in his sides or legs or arms. Shōto froze despite himself, wide-eyed as Midoriya gave a choking wail —his fault, his fault, yet not because Midoriya didn't have to do this, didn't have to go so far to meet him evenly when some part of Shōto **knew** Midoriya could just burn his way to victory if he wanted—. He saw overlapping smiles again in his mind, saw a body trying to shield him from a hot, dangerous fury that he had been too small to stand against and for some reason connected the feelings from then to the battered boy in front of him now. _Why?_

Words finally broke past his chattering teeth, desperate and angry —at himself, at his father, at Midoriya, at the world maybe, he didn't know anymore—, "Why are you going so far?" _Why do you remind me of_ ** _her_** _?_

Midoriya was breathless with pain and fatigue, but his eyes —amber and violet like fire and the dawn— were as bright as ever, "Because I want to live up to everyone's expectations…" He was running toward Shōto now, but Shōto couldn't make himself move as he instead listened, "Because I want to **protect them** … I want to be able to smile … and respond to them … to scare away everything that would hurt them or frighten them … just like All Might does … like a hero … that's what I want to be!"

 _"_ _Shōto…"_ Whisper-soft and only in his head, gentle and kind, not like his last memories of its owner. His left arm was pulsing now, begging to be released, **reaching** for something he couldn't name but **needed**. It paralyzed him, froze him in place until Midoriya crashed into him, punching him back with the arm that wasn't bent at a not-quite-right angle, "That's why … everyone's **giving it their all**!"

Midoriya stood there, breathing hard, eyes bright and searching and desperate somehow as he clutched his not-right forearm, "There's no way I can know all of your circumstances, or your resolve. But for you to become Number One without giving it your all, just to reject your father… right now, I think you should stop screwing around!"

 **.**

 **.**

 _Tears falling down his face, fatigue so great it was nausea and agony as he clutched his middle. A figure in front of him, protective and pleading, accepting of his weakness, trying to shield him despite the difference in strength._

 **.**

 **.**

Shōto couldn't breathe. There was a pressure inside, building and building with every word Midoriya spoke, clawing and desperate as things flashed before his eyes. "Shut. Up." The words came out strangled, barely escaped past the memories crashing in on him, destroying his focus.

 **.**

 **.**

 _One blow too many, one step too far. A fire-wreathed hand raised to strike the only thing he cared for, the only thing he loved. A snap of control, a raging pulse of_ stop-stop-get-away-get-away-I-won't-let-you- **hurt-her** \- _that was followed by fire that shifted and changed and became_ ** _more_** _for all of a few seconds before arms were around him, soothing and calming and accepting no matter what —or so he thought at the time—._

 **.**

 **.**

 _Tears and pain and shame, huddled against soft fabric while hands pet his head, "I don't wanna, Mom… I … I don't want to become like Dad! I don't want to become someone who bullies you, Mom!"_

 _"_ _But you want to be a hero, don't you? It's okay for_ ** _you_** _to be one. As long as you have a future you feel strongly about."_

 **.**

 **.**

There was a fist flying for his face, a pressure shoving against the feeling inside his chest that threatened to steal the last of his oxygen even more than the punch that slammed into his stomach, "That's why I will **win**! **I will surpass you**!"

Shōto was flying again, a thousand things in his head and heart, tugging and pulling, trying to make him understand, trying to make him see. Shōto pushed himself up, choking on smoke and memories of his mother sobbing _"I'm going crazy"_ , the scream of a tea kettle, the sensation of agony and betrayal as water **burned**. Shōto could feel himself shaking, _his-fault-his-fault-his-fault,_ "I will … reject my father's power … I won't … use his quirk!" Something desperate clawed at him, trying to hold on to an edge over which Shōto couldn't see, "I won't let you win with **his quirk**!"

Midoriya flung out his arms again, fire twisting and licking down them brightly enough to make Shōto's eyes water, then surged out and back in a shape that was unlike anything Shōto had ever seen, unlike anything Endeavor could have even dreamed of creating, " **My quirk is my own**!" The world stopped moving, balanced on a knife's edge of memory and realization. The outstretched flames —like brilliant wings, each feather formed out of amber plumage and violet pinions, a phoenix, a manifestation of the boundless sky itself— called to Shōto. It begged and pleaded, sung to a sense he couldn't name about something … something he couldn't quite understand. Something he couldn't quite believe- " **Yours is too, ISN'T IT**?"

 **.**

 **.**

 _All Might on the screen, smiling and talking while Shōto cuddled next to his mother. The big hero was nodding, "Yes, that's right. Children inherit Quirks from their parents. But the really important thing is not that connection, but recognizing your own flesh and blood. Recognizing_ ** _yourself_** _. That is what I mean when I say: 'I am here!'. You see?"_

 ** _._**

 ** _._**

 _His mother's gentle hand on his hair, a smile in her voice, "But you want to be a hero, don't you? It's okay for_ ** _you_** _to be one. You don't have to be bound by your blood. It's okay for you to become who you_ ** _want_** _to be." The words filled him with warmth, reached in and curled around his heart with acceptance and trust, with faith not in Endeavor's son, but in_ ** _Shōto_** _, just the way he was, no matter how flawed or different that might be._

 **.**

 **.**

And suddenly Shōto knew what Midoriya's fire was saying to him.

 _Home-acceptance-you-are-free-you-are-your-own-I-will-protect-you-even-if-you-are-never-mine-will-you-be-mine-?_

Endeavor ceased to matter. All thoughts of his father, all the subconscious recollections and snide "if I do this, the Old Man will throw a fit" burned away, taking all of his hatred and fury along with it, leaving behind nothing but Shōto, Midoriya, and the bone-deep — **soul-deep** — song Midoriya's flames were singing. Shōto's fire rose up inside him in response and he let it, let it flow and surge up and out of his skin in response, questing subconsciously to respond to what he could hear, to convey everything he had never dared before, even to his mother.

 **.**

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* * *

 **.**

 **.**

Up in the stands, Katsuki was on his feet in an instant, heart hammering in his throat as he felt more than saw the deep indigo Flames surge up amidst blistering normal fire to meet Deku's Sky on equal footing, like a dragon released from its cage to meet its counterpart in the skies at long last. The stress and anger he had been —barely— suppressing faded for a moment as he saw the indigo Flames bleed into both normal fire and ice and twist them into massive, brilliant twin dragons and realized what was happening.

While everyone else in the stands screamed over the brightness and the sheer **heat** of the battle below, Katsuki felt his lips curl into a savage smile. Deku had just found another one. And this one was **strong**.

 **.**

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* * *

 **.**

 **.**

Shōto was panting, there was a thrill hammering through his veins he couldn't remember feeling before in battle. There was a giddiness that he barely kept under control enough to prevent hysterical laughter. The cold brought by overusing his ice melted away and Shōto stared at his flaming hand in wonder for a moment before he breathed, "Even though you want to win … d*mn it, Midoriya…" He looked up and met amber and violet eyes, unaware of how his usual gray and blue were now a unified misty indigo, "To help your enemy…" A breathless, disbelieving laugh escaped him, "Which one of us is screwing around now?"

Midoriya stared right at him. Right at the inferno dancing on Shōto's skin, the massive boost in power he had just pushed Shōto into using … and smiled, wild and fierce and so, so happy —for Shōto, for his enemy, for the only one in Class A who had barely given him the time of day until after the Villain Invasion—. Shōto swallowed hard around the lump that had formed in his throat, "I want … to be a hero, too…!" _Like this, like you. I want to win, I want to see, I want …_ he felt a tear slide down his face and then evaporate in the heat as he tried to put everything he was feeling into words.

Midoriya's smile grew and Shōto threw back his shoulders, "Why are you smiling?" _I know why you're smiling, but I don't understand,_ "With those injuries, in this situation … you're crazy." Ice began to bubble up from beneath his foot, hard as diamonds despite the unbelievable heat in the arena, sealing his feet and legs to the floor, "Don't blame me for what happens next."

Midoriya only laughed, bright and fearless, "I won't. Now," he pulled back his good arm, fist clenched and fire roaring, "let's see what you can **really** do!" Midoriya lunged, fire reaching for fire, phoenix reaching for dragon, and in that moment, as Shōto's flames stretched out with all of the power he had suppressed for so long, Shōto felt … free.

 _Midoriya … thank you._

Then something surged up in the way of their fire and the world exploded. When it cleared, it was to the sight of a ruined arena and Midoriya, smiling at him from were he had been thrown to the far wall … well out of bounds.

Shōto didn't hear Midnight call the match in his favor, didn't hear the screaming of the crowd. He stumbled forward, ice falling away from his feet as he staggered toward the boy who had **accepted** him despite how cold Shōto had been to him, how harsh he had been. Despite how he didn't deserve even the slightest bit of sympathy or respect —let alone Midoriya's **help** —…

He found himself trailing after Midoriya's group —which consisted of a seething Bakugo and a frantic Uraraka, Kirishima, and Tsuyu— rather helplessly. Pulled along by the desire to do … something. Help maybe. Apologize definitely. But the four classmates closest to Midoriya were too busy crowding around the green-haired boy, protesting Midoriya's insistence that he walk to Recovery Girl's office and that he had sent the medics away to let Shōto get too close without being pushy. All Shōto could do was trail along at the back of the group in a daze and try to organize his spinning thoughts.

Shōto was so wrapped up in his own head that he wasn't even aware of another person's presence until Midoriya suddenly turned and lunged out of the group, grabbed Shōto's wrist —with his _bruised-bloody-battered_ hand and didn't it hurt to move his fingers?—, and dragged Shōto behind him. Shōto blinked in surprise and in the moment he did, Bakugo and Kirishima had shifted to flank Midoriya, the three forming an impromptu shield in front of Shōto while Uraraka and Tsuyu hovered at Shōto's back, oddly calming in their presence despite his confusion and usual distaste for people in his personal space.

"Don't. Touch. Shōto-kun." Shōto flinched in surprise at the sheer **venom** in Midoriya's voice. The three, quiet words conveyed a level of hatred Shōto hadn't thought Midoriya was physically capable of and were edged with a razor intent that could only be described as deadly. Shōto's wrist —that Midoriya's hand was still clenched around—, tingled with prickles of warmth that didn't burn and a soul-deep impression of _stay-away-you-won't-hurt-him-anymore-I-will-hurt-you-if-you-come-any-closer-to-him-_ that made Shōto's breath hitch.

He looked past Midoriya's bristling shoulders and realized with a jolt of _fear-hate-disgust-fear_ that he hadn't even noticed Endeavor in the corridor until that point. Endeavor towered over Midoriya, a behemoth of fire and leashed wrath that made Midoriya look so, so small in comparison as the man loomed forward and growled, " **Excuse you**? I am Shōto's father, I will do with him **exactly** as I please and speak to him **whenever** I please."

Midoriya was a rather shy person by nature, Shōto had observed that many times before in class. But there was no sign of that timidity now as he stood, shoulders straight and body unflinching, and bit back at the number two Pro Hero like one would a particularly nasty dog, "You've said **plenty** to Shōto-kun already. More than plenty. He doesn't need to hear anymore of your cr*p right now. Or ever. He's coming with me to Recovery Girl's office for his bruises and you. Will. Not. Touch. Him."

Endeavor's nostrils flared in a way Shōto knew meant he was one step away from inflicting a very harsh punishment, "Insolent brat-!"

Shōto had thought that after everything they'd done in the arena, Midoriya would be far too exhausted to summon even a spark of his fire. But the moment Endeavor's shoulders drew back and his face twisted, the corridor was suddenly lit with warning purple and amber flames that traced and slithered down Midoriya's arms like snakes. More than that, there was a sudden pressure to the air, heavy and deadly and furious. It choked off anything that might have been said and pressed down on the shoulders of everyone present with the same kind of terror that one might associate with realizing that a monster had appeared right behind you and was about to rip out your spine.

"Try something," it was barely a breath, barely a whisper, but it cut the silent air like a knife. The hum between Shōto's skin and Midoriya's changed tone to something bloodthirsty, something that should have felt terrifying on a visceral level but instead just made Shōto feel … safe for the first time in years. Out of the corner of his eye, Shōto saw Bakugo bare his teeth in a feral sort of smile at Midoriya's whisper, a dull red glow forming on his palms that added to the pressure in the air. Kirishima's arms were slowly going hard, and there was a brush of Uraraka's fingertips against Shōto's bare back, lightening his bodyweight without a sound as if in preparation to pick him up and run for it.

Midoriya's head tilted upward, and the expression on his face must have been something special, because for the first time in his life, Shōto saw his father genuinely falter, "Try something. **Please**." The edge in Midoriya's voice —the one that spoke of death and destruction, promised a storm that could level mountains and a gale that stirred tsunamis— had roughened his voice to an odd, rolling growl, "Let me **ruin** you. Because believe me, I can do just that."

Midoriya's head tilted ever so slightly to the side and Shōto got the odd impression that he was smiling, "Touch me, and I promise that everyone in this stadium will know about it in minutes. Touch my friends, and everyone in the country will know by the end of the day. **Touch Shōto-kun again** without his express permission, and I **will destroy you**. I will take that precious reputation of yours and I will tear it to rags. It might take me years. It might take me **decades**. But by the time I'm done with you, there won't be a single place in this country where you will be able to show your face. There won't be a single hero agency in the **world** that will hire you. I will take everything you own and have ever built and **I will burn it to ash before your eyes**. "

Endeavor's lips twisted as if he would speak —though how his Old Man could even breathe past the building pressure, Shōto wasn't sure, and since when was Midoriya so terrifying?— but Midoriya was still talking, "Don't believe me? Eraserhead is our homeroom teacher, he knows **exactly** who to talk to and how to gather up all of someone's dirty secrets and prepare them for court cases. All Might is our combat instructor and the entire **world** will believe his word over anyone else's in a heartbeat. Even yours."

Midoriya was definitely smiling, it was in his voice and it was very much not the sunshine expression Shōto had grown to associate with the boy, "We are **all** their students and they have already proven that they will defend us by any means necessary. They **will** believe us when we tell them about whatever happens next in this corridor or from now on and if you physically or emotionally hurt **any of us** , they will make your life hell."

Midoriya took a deep breath, his voice never rising from its quiet, deadly whisper, "And even if they **don't** manage to get you fired from your career and a restraining order leveled against you for Shōto-kun's sake, people will remember that kind of scandal and it will cause severe damage to your reputation for **years**. Plenty of time for me to get together everything Aizawa-sensei might not have had time to find and burn what is left of your life to the **ground**."

The shadows formed of amber and purple fire twisted into shapes like formless monsters and dripping blood, "So please. **Give me a reason**."

No one spoke. Shōto didn't think anyone **could** speak after that. That had been something far more worthy of a villain than the gentle, sweet-tempered boy Shōto had seen over the semester. It wasn't even something he could imagine coming from the wild phoenix of a boy he had just seen in the arena. That had been … that was … and all for his sake? The strange throbbing of emotions and impressions under his skin —and he really should be more worried about that than he was— confirmed it and Shōto felt … both frightened and overawed. Then he realized that eventually someone was going to have to break the building silence in the corridor and if it was either Endeavor or Midoriya then there was a good chance something would happen that everyone would regret later.

So, as gently as he could, Shōto lifted his free hand and curled his fingers gingerly around Midoriya's least damaged wrist. Midoriya immediately twisted around to look at him and **oh** , now Shōto could see why his Old Man had faltered in the face of a high school student's wrath. Because Midoriya's eyes were burning amber and violet again, but instead of the passionate light that had stirred Shōto into using his fire side at long last, now the gleam in them was something old and deep and terrible.

It reminded Shōto of the stories he'd read, of the tumultuous period when quirks were first manifesting in force and the world had nearly devolved into another warring states-style era. Stories of the quirkless masses being faced with men and women who wielded power hitherto thought fictional. Of mobs turned aside and armies brought low by a mere handful of people who refused to be slaughtered simply because the world saw them as too monstrous to be safe. There were many stories like that, some confirmed as true, some no better than fiction, but looking into those eyes, Shōto couldn't help but remember one in particular.

It was the story of the first fire quirk to be manifested in that era, wielded by a man who could —at best— be considered an anti-hero. The story went that the man, an Italian —and possibly even a mafioso—, who lived in a tiny neighborhood populated almost entirely by quirk-users. The neighborhood had been at risk of being rounded up and taken to the "quarantine camps" that had been cropping up everywhere as the fear of the mostly quirkless population hit its highest point.

Reports said that the man had tried to negotiate for his neighborhood's freedom, even offered to turn himself in willingly to the division of the government charged with investigating the source of quirk manifestation —a fancy term for experimentation really— in exchange for their safety. The government had agreed, but had then tried to go behind his back and round up the neighborhood anyway, several of the residents getting badly hurt in the process.

The man who had turned himself in heard about it and proceeded to burn his way out of his prison. Perhaps that wouldn't have been a notable story if it weren't for the fact that he **didn't stop** there. He kept going, kept burning, kept killing anyone who tried to take him down until he had not only burned the "research facility" to ashes, but had marched right into the capital and held the entire government hostage until they both released his neighborhood and signed the first Quirk Protection and Equal Rights act into existence.

Most people didn't believe the story anymore —since no one had ever even confirmed the man's name and reports of that time period were so wildly conflicting—, but Shōto had found an interview that claimed to be from someone who had been a child resident of the nameless fire user's neighborhood and thus, one of his supposed reasons for rampaging. The interview had always been rather haunting to Shōto, if unbelievable —mostly because he had trouble believing any one man, so long as they didn't have a mind control quirk, could fight past an army and hold an entire government hostage for that long—, but one part of the interview had always stuck with him.

 _"_ _He was a nice man. Always calm and smiling. I remember him breaking up squabbles between neighbors all the time and getting them to part ways with a smile."_ The interviewer had pointed out that many would consider the man and his actions monstrous. A great many people had —supposedly— lost their lives to his rampage over one neighborhood.

The interviewee was said to have laughed, _"I said he was nice. I never said he was_ ** _safe_** _. He loved his neighborhood and everyone in it. He loved his people. But that was it. So long as everyone else left us in peace, he was fine with that. But if someone threatened us? He would protect us at all costs, period, full stop. It didn't matter if the threat was one man or the entire world. Once he got that look in his eyes, there was nothing that could stop him until he was sure we were safe again."_

What look? The interviewer had asked.

 _"_ _It's hard to describe,"_ the book had recorded, _"you would have to see it to really understand. But it was like … when you looked at him, at his eyes, they weren't human anymore. They were … old. Powerful. He went from being just the neighborhood big brother to someone who could break the world in half without trying. Looking him in the eyes when he got like that was like looking up at the sky and suddenly realizing that it was about to rain fire and brimstone and all you could do was pray that you were not the one that fire and brimstone was meant for."_

Why would you trust a man like that? _"Because we were_ ** _his_** _. Always his. And he would never hurt us. We could look him in the eye when he got like that, walk right up to him even when he was on fire if we wanted because we_ ** _knew_** _he would never lay a hand on us. Like how you know the sky is blue, or that gravity exists. It was just something that_ ** _was_** _. So even if it was terrifying for everyone else, watching the fire come and burn, we were able to stand back and admire how beautiful it was. Because there was nothing to be afraid of. And there never would be. Not from him."_

It was never something Shōto had understood. Because fire was indiscriminate. It burned everyone, no matter who you were or how much the source might care for you. If you got too close it would turn you to ash or scar you forever. He hadn't understood how anyone could look right into an inferno and feel safe.

But now? Now Shōto was looking at it for himself, looking right into eyes as deep and brilliant as the sky right before fire and brimstone hurled itself down to earth to destroy everything in its path … and he felt … safe. He was a bit uneasy, like someone who knew mentally that they were too far away for stray sparks to catch their clothes, but were still a bit nervous about the possibility anyway because of past trauma. But aside from that mild, instinctive unease, he felt completely safe.

It was probably the first time he could remember feeling that way when his Old Man was in the same room.

Shōto shook himself out of his stunned musings and tugged softly on Midoriya's wrist, "Let's go. I want-" _I want you away from Endeavor before someone ends up dead or in jail. I want you to explain what has been going on to make my life feel like its been flipped upside down in the space of a day. I want you go back to being the Midoriya the entire class adores because they think you're sunshine and happiness incarnate._ But he couldn't say any of those things, that would just set off the problem further. He opened his mouth, scrambling for an excuse, something to say, and what impulsively came out was, "I want Recovery Girl to take a look at my back. I've got a bad bruise from where I hit the ice."

And just like that, the look in Midoriya's eyes and the licking fire that promised _death-monster-burn_ was gone. Replaced by tired, concerned green eyes and a gentle expression. All the rage and the sense of ancient, terrible doom vanishing in the wake of hearing that one of his —because Shōto was Midoriya's in the green-haired boy's mind, he could see that so clearly now— wanted something, "Of course, Shōto-kun. Sorry for keeping you waiting, it must hurt to be standing like that with how hard you hit the ice. Are you sure your legs aren't bruised too? You should probably take it easy."

They had started moving again at some point in Midoriya's ramble, Midoriya's friends still encircling the two of them protectively even as Bakugo flicked Midoriya's temple and lectured him for being "such an f*ing hypocrite, your arms are way worse than his **anything** ".

Endeavor said nothing as they left. Shōto didn't dare to look over his shoulder to see what his father's expression was like, but he had a sneaking suspicion of what it might have been anyway.

Like that of someone who had just seen Death come for them, only to be turned aside at the last second by —ironically— the person who hated them most.

It didn't take long for Shōto to get his back and legs —which had also been badly bruised— seen to and a new shirt procured for him. Midoriya had to stay and have surgery and a recovery period —all the bones in his hands were fractured, one finger was shattered, and one arm was badly broken—, and Recovery Girl barely managed to herd them all outside so she could prep Midoriya without distractions. Everyone else seemed to be making a point not to mention the encounter with Endeavor, so he didn't either. Instead, the moment he had been dismissed from Recovery Girl's office, Shōto hid himself in the preparation rooms to brood until his match with Bakugo.

He spent the next two hours waiting for the matches to start —the arena had to be fixed first— staring at his left hand in a daze and wrestling with his thoughts and feelings. He wanted to be disgusted, he wanted to be happy. He had used his left side, he had broken that promise to himself. But instead of disgust, all he could remember was how **freeing** it had felt, to use both halves of himself, to meet Midoriya on even footing, fire to fire, even if it was only for a few seconds.

And how was he supposed to feel about Midoriya anyway? The boy had already changed several times in his mind. First from a symbol of everything he hated about Endeavor to a brave, shy classmate he admired but couldn't bring himself to befriend. Now he was … Shōto didn't know what Midoriya was. He had dragged Shōto out of his shell with words and deeds. Had ripped apart his emotional shields and left him open and vulnerable for the first time in years, then turned around and outright threatened the Number Two hero —someone so much bigger, nastier, more powerful politically and in experience— just to protect Shōto.

Shōto wiggled the fingers of his left hand experimentally, allowing just the tiniest bit of fire to lick up from his palm. He thought about the feelings he had picked up from Midoriya's fire, from their skin contact during the confrontation with Endeavor and tried to understand how he felt about that too. It was all … Shōto rubbed his right hand through his hair, "D*mn it, Midoriya…" He would take just about any single emotion to feel if it meant he no longer had to deal with the massive ball of conflicting feelings humming his chest.

A flicker of color in the small heartbeat of flames in his left hand drew his attention and he stared at the wisps of indigo curling through the orange. Shōto gaped at it, watched it flicker and curl up and down his fingers, oddly cool despite its clear fiery nature. In the back of his mind, there was a flicker of recognition, a hint of the old memory of _stay-away-I-won't-let-you-hurt-her-_ and Shōto bit back a frustrated noise that was dangerously close to a sob, "…What did you do to me?"

"You did that to yourself, technically."

Shōto jerked in his seat, quickly snuffing the fire with a clenched fist as he twisted to face the door. He blinked, off balance yet again as he registered who exactly was leaning in the doorway, "Bakugo…"

The usually loud and violent teen was oddly quiet and contemplative-looking as he strode into the room and shut the door behind him. Shōto suppressed a feeling of unease as Bakugo pointedly took one of the spare chairs in the room and hooked it under the doorknob to keep anyone from barging in on them. Instead of the attack Shōto was more than half expecting —Midoriya had gotten badly hurt fighting him after all, and Bakugo was extremely overprotective of his childhood friend—, Bakugo pulled out another chair, spun it around, and sat on it with his arms propped on its back.

Red eyes bored into his for several long seconds before Bakugo began to speak, solemn and low, "The indigo in your fire. Ever seen it before?"

Shōto bit back a curt "none of your business". Because Bakugo's gaze was heavy and oddly knowing, like he already knew the answer. Maybe all the answers. So instead of lashing out, Shōto nodded hesitantly, "Yes. Once … I think. When I was a child and…" He didn't want to say more than that. Bakugo didn't need to know about Shōto's harsh upbringing, of the many memories of his mother shielding him from his father's wrath only to suffer it herself.

"And you saw something about to happen, either to yourself or someone you care about, that was so bad you would have rather died than let it happen, and you sure as h*ll weren't going to lie down and die either." Except Bakugo apparently knew exactly what Shōto was talking about. He stared at the blond, who didn't react to the incredulous expression aside from a loose shrug, "Welcome to the club of people who are so d*mn stubborn they convert their life force into a second quirk."

"…What?"

Bakugo motioned to Shōto's left hand, "The indigo. It's a secondary fire-based quirk. People only get it if they're in a do-or-die situation their own quirk can't handle and they still refuse to kick the bucket or lose whatever it is they care about most in the world. Even then, not many people have the willpower to pull it off. Sunny's grandma called them Dying Will Flames, even though they can do a h*ll of a lot more than just burn sh*t." Bakugo leaned back a bit, hands gripping the back of the chair to stay balanced as he examined Shōto, "Didn't think a rich kid like you had what it took to activate them though."

Shōto felt like someone had disconnected his already swimming brain from his mouth, as all of the many things he wanted to say to that —what were Dying Will Flames, how did he know all of that, what did it have to do with anything, why was he here and not with Midoriya— stayed locked in his head in favor of a weak, "…What?"

Red eyes rolled so hard they could have fallen out of Bakugo's head if he'd had the quirk for it, "Shut the f*ck up and listen. I don't want to explain this more than once and I'm only going to explain it twice at most." With that one, foul-mouthed disclaimer, Bakugo launched into a surprisingly detailed explanation about everything that had been throwing Shōto for a loop.

It was almost like the blond had a mind-reading quirk instead of an explosive one. He flowed from topic to topic, explaining everything he knew about the supposed First Quirks. Their names, traits, abilities, and origins. He explained how Midoriya was a Cloudy Sky, which meant that he was mix between the rarest sixth and seventh quirks. He explained how it that influenced Midoriya's personality to be to sweet and kind and accepting of everyone but an outright murderer, but also secretly possessive and protective beyond belief. He outlined how each of the other quirks in the set were meant to fall under the care of a Sky, to protect that Sky in exchange for a home and a total acceptance that couldn't really be described. He explained how bonded quirks could feel their Sky, exchange emotions and thoughts freely with their Sky and visa versa over what sounded suspiciously to Shōto like some kind of soul-bond from a fantasy anime.

Then Bakugo held out an arm and Shōto watched in astonishment as blood-red flames formed and danced up the blond's arm just like Midoriya's could dance up his. Something that should have been impossible for someone who's quirk was based around the nitroglycerin in the sweat glands of his hands. He stared at the Flames as Bakugo explained that he was Midoriya's first, his Storm, and had been for years before they went to U.A. and got an explanation for the soul-deep bond they shared. Bakugo told him how each of Midoriya's closest friends were actually his newfound Elements, and that the pull Shōto had felt, the one that had drawn out his fire side and his Flames —because apparently Shōto was a Mist Flame?— was the call of Midoriya's Sky to Shōto's Mist, asking him to form the same bond that Bakugo, Kirishima, Uraraka, and Asui had all formed with him.

It was frightening at first, to think that there was someone out there who could pull him into their sphere of influence and never let go, could inspire the kind of rabid loyalty he saw in Bakugo and to a lesser extent the other three. But Bakugo told him, flat and blunt as he always was, that the choice was purely up to Shōto. That Midoriya wouldn't —couldn't— force Shōto to become part of his set unless Shōto himself asked to be so.

It wouldn't stop the Call from continuing —apparently Midoriya still couldn't control that aspect of his quirk—. Nor would it stop Midoriya from defending Shōto as best he could —"Because he's f*ing attached to you now, there's no f*ing stopping him from at least being your friend like he is with the Extras"—, but Shōto's mind was and would remain his own. In the end, it would be purely his own decision of what he chose to do about his Flames. Midoriya and his group were the best —and only— people around to teach him how to manage his … Mist Flames … but that if he didn't Harmonize with Midoriya, then he would be stuck with Bakugo as his primary teacher. Because exercising his Flame in close proximity to Midoriya was just begging for the Call to make them both do something stupid.

After laying out his explanation and answering Shōto's tentative questions with surprising patience, Bakugo stood up and made as if to leave the room. Shōto couldn't help but speak as Bakugo removed the chair from under the doorknob, "Midoriya is very strong. I can't really see him needing so many people to keep him safe."

Bakugo slammed the chair down by the table and gave Shōto a dark, bloodthirsty smile, "Who says we're protecting him from other people? Sure, we do that too, he's our Sky and we don't want to see him get hurt. But use that d*mn brain of yours and think for a minute. Clouds are possessive, they don't **care** if something is way out of their d*mn league. If its a threat to someone they care about, they're gonna fight it and **keep** fighting it until either the threat is permanently removed or the Cloud is **dead**. And Skies are even f*ing worse. Deku is **both** of those. What would have happened if none of us had been there when Endeavor showed up? What would have happened if you hadn't distracted him with your bruises?"

Shōto thought back, added in those questions with what he had seen and now knew, and paled, "Someone would have ended up dead." And despite the age and experience gap, Shōto didn't think it would have been Midoriya.

Bakugo nodded, and his dark smile fell, "Even if he survived it, the aftermath would break him. Deku loves being a hero, he loves **helping people**. To know that he lost control of his instincts and killed someone, even if they were the f*ing scum of the earth…" Bakugo shook his head and didn't finish.

Shōto breathed past the sudden chill of realization in his lungs, "You aren't just protecting Midoriya from danger, you're protecting him from himself."

"Bingo."

Shōto stared at the table and tried to get a grip on the concept that Midoriya had been at risk of going that far for Shōto's sake. Then he glanced up, "Why tell me all of this? If I tell the teachers, Midoriya might get expelled."

The smile came back, wild and dangerous, "Because you won't tell them. Besides," the smile slid into a more calculating expression, and Shōto finally saw the genius who stayed in the top three of their class in every subject behind the nasty temper, "you knew how to keep Deku from losing it, even when you didn't know exactly what the f*ck was going on. You aren't excitable and reactive like Sunny or Weird Face, and your not as drifty or passive as Froggy. You would know when to keep Deku calm and when to help him burn sh*t to the ground. You'd be good for him, maybe."

Bakugo tilted his head and his teeth flashed into view again, "But all that will mean sh*t if you aren't strong enough to keep up with him. So you'd better get to the finals and give me everything you've got, from **both** sides of your quirk, or you're not getting within ten feet of Deku again. Got it?"

He did. Possibly too well. He probably should have been disturbed by just how well he understood what Bakugo was saying —and wasn't saying—, how loyal he could see the blond was toward Midoriya, but he wasn't. Instead he was … intrigued. So Shōto just nodded silently and Bakugo disappeared down the hall to go fight his next match.

It was hard to convince himself to use his fire side. He didn't manage it during his fight with Iida, relying instead on his ice like he was used to. But during his fight with Bakugo, he was driven to the edge by the blond, enough that for a second time he forgot all about Endeavor and lashed out with his flames. The match ended with both of them exhausted, severely burned, and Shōto the loser via being thrown out of bounds —the final explosion had been massive and he hadn't managed to raise an ice wall in time to stop—, but Bakugo was smiling like a madman and Shōto sensed he had passed some kind of test.

Things got busy after that, internships were started and Shōto found himself taking an internship under Endeavor —after informing Midoriya about the voluntary decision first and why, because he really didn't want to see if Midoriya could follow through on his threats from the hallway if he found out about it from rumors—.

Then he sensed Midoriya's Flames spiking from halfway across Hosu moments before he got a text that consisted only of a location and his feet were carrying him there at top speed before he even realized what he was doing. He thought he might have called over his shoulder to Endeavor to send backup as soon as possible to the address, but he couldn't really remember. Everything in between receiving the text and arriving in the alleyway just in time to stop the Hero Killer from stabbing Iida through the head was basically a blur.

The fight that followed was clear though, and would be for years. Every detail and wash of fire, every shouted word from the battlers in the life or death struggle was imprinted into his mind amidst memories of blazing amber-purple and red-tinged explosions and the scream of abused leg engines. He especially remembered the moment after the fight, when everyone was panting and exhausted and so grateful to see real pro heroes arriving at last —but also miffed because students had had to take down the Hero Killer and how unfair was that?— and the winged Nomu had come out of nowhere to snatch the mostly unconscious Midoriya into the smoky sky.

Shōto would remember Bakugo's gut-wrenching, wild scream for the rest of his life. Remember the way Bakugo had tried to fling himself into the air after the Nomu despite the fact that one arm had been rendered useless by the Hero Killer during the fight. How Bakugo had straight up started sobbing in relief after the Hero Killer —the villain who had almost killed them even as he praised their determination and will— regained consciousness and rescued Midoriya from the Nomu before terrifying them with the sheer power of his will and belief in his own twisted ideals.

They all ended up sharing a hospital room and getting both chewed out and thanked by the Hosu police chief. Bakugo seethed for hours after learning that the only way to escape punishment was to let Endeavor take the credit for bringing the Hero Killer down while Shōto tried not to get distracted by the subtle whisper of Midoriya's Flames against his own.

It was two days after that —after the doctors had left them alone for the night and Iida and Bakugo had fallen asleep— that Shōto woke up just in time to see Midoriya silently shuffle out of their room. He followed Midoriya out into the hall and came to stand beside him after Midoriya found a wall-length window overlooking the night-darkened city. Midoriya didn't seem to notice Shōto, he was too busy watching the city with a lost, vulnerable expression on his face that made him seem so … small. Nothing like the phoenix that had faced him in the arena, nothing like the stubborn, fearless hero who had saved Iida's life in the alley. He looked like a child, and it was a bit startling for Shōto to remember that Midoriya —all of them— were only fifteen. Far too young for this many near-death experiences and battles.

Midoriya broke the silence with a whisper, "I understand him. Stain, I mean." Midoriya bit his lip, his eyes still glued to the sights beyond the window, "Everything he was talking about in the alley, about removing the corruption and forcing people to open their eyes and see what was wrong with society. I understood that. Even though we were fighting, even though I told him he was wrong, there's a part of me that heard everything he had to say and **agreed** with him."

Green eyes dipped down to stare at his heavily bandaged hand —the one Stain had stabbed with at least three knives in a failed effort to keep Midoriya out of the fight without killing him— and Shōto saw guilt flash in the other boy's expression, "I'm not blind. I know what kind of instincts my quirk comes with, what it tries to make me do when I get too angry. I know that half the time Bakugo acts so loud and violent is because he's trying to vent on my behalf and distract me from losing to that part of myself. There's a part of me that looks out at the world and sees everything simply as 'mine' or 'not mine' and doesn't care what happens to anyone or anything that doesn't fall under the classification of 'mine'. That part of me could burn someone to death, and as long as they were a threat to what's mine, that part of me wouldn't **care** how wrong the action was. Just so long as my loved ones were **safe**. That part of me, the Cloud Flames I think, it's very strong. Especially when I fight."

His injured hand pulled back to nestle against his chest and his shoulders hunched defensively, "But the rest of me … I do care. I **do**. I want to **help** people, protect them, even if they aren't mine. I want to be a hero like All Might. Someone who keeps the peace so that people I don't even know can wake up each morning with a smile. I know that it's wrong to look at the world, at **people** , as 'mine' or 'not mine' and make decisions based solely on that. But sometimes I can't help it. Sometimes…"

His voice trailed off for almost a minute as he stared out over the city. When he continued, his voice sounded very brittle, "Sometimes I'm afraid that one day, something will happen and that part of me that doesn't care will take over and just … never let go. That I'm going to become just like Stain, or Shigaraki, or so many other villains I've researched and I won't even care about the monster I've become because as long as my loved ones are safe **why would it matter**?"

A lone tear slid down Midoriya's face and he didn't bother to scrub it away as he whispered, "But I think the worst part of it is that I know that I wouldn't just be destroying myself. Kacchan wants to be a hero too. He likes helping people, even though he's terrible at showing it, but I **know** that if I lost to that part of myself and became a villain, Kacchan would follow me. He would give up his dreams, and his morals, and help me with whatever I decided to do instead. I think the others would too, and if they didn't, the conflict over our bond would probably kill them."

Another tear, "I can't do that to them. I can't. I never … I never thought about just how strong the bond between a Sky and his Elements was until recently, but now that I figured that out, I can't help but hate the fact that I've done that to them. I've put them in a situation where if I fall, they're either going to fall with me or die trying to stop me. I look at people like Stain, people who make so much **sense** to me, even though I know he's wrong and I think- I think-" He curled in on himself and a hoarse sob slipped from his throat.

Shōto mentally flailed. He had no idea what to do with crying people, he was terrible at socialization on a **good** day. He didn't know why Bakugo hadn't sensed Midoriya's distress and swooped in the fix the problem with his usual caustic but loyal demeanor already, because Shōto was probably one of the least qualified people to handle this kind of crisis. Shōto wasn't part of Midoriya's Element set, he wasn't even a friend of Midoriya's until recently. He couldn't fix this.

But he did understand it.

The realization brought his mental flailing to a halt. Shōto stared at Midoriya, hunched and crying quietly in the hospital hall, and realized he knew exactly what Midoriya was feeling. He knew exactly how it felt to see part of your quirk as a monster and be terrified by the thought that the monster was **inside you** , forever and always, just waiting to come out and destroy everything you cared about the moment you let your guard down. He had spent years looking at his fire side that way, refusing to let it out for fear that it would turn him into a copy of the man he hated most.

And now the person responsible for showing him otherwise —for giving him the courage to see his mother again, the courage to wield his fire and not flinch, the courage to stand up to his father— was going through the same crisis. Only this time, there was no green-haired boy with amber and purple eyes and the Will to break through any obstacle and fix things. There was just Shōto, the boy who could empathize but had no real idea what to do or say to fix what was breaking before his eyes.

He thought of a handful of evenings spent on the school rooftop or around the school pool with Bakugo yelling at him —without any real anger he realized now— and patient green eyes encouraging him to just take his time, do what he could and stop when he became too uncomfortable and realized that maybe … just maybe … Shōto didn't have to fix anything. Maybe he just had to … be there.

Shōto scraped up what courage he had and pushed away the part of him that shied away from initiating physical contact. Then, mentally emulating what his mother had done for him in some of his earliest memories, he reached out and stiffly pulled Midoriya to his chest, holding the shaking boy with tense arms and awkwardly rubbing a hand up and down his friend's quivering back.

Midoriya's forehead was pressed uncomfortably into the base of his throat and the knuckles of the green-haired boy's fisted hands were trapped between their bodies and digging painfully into his diaphragm. Tears were already soaking his shirt, and he was fairly certain that if anyone came across them now the scene would look very … awkward and embarrassing. But Midoriya felt so small and unexpectedly fragile in Shōto's arms that he couldn't bring himself to care. Shōto stared down at the green curls pressed against his chest and wondered, fleetingly and out of nowhere, if this was what having a brother was like. Having someone who supported him, but needed support in return.

Well, they were half-brothers after all. He supposed that if he was going to feel that way about anyone, Midoriya was a fitting choice.

But Midoriya was still crying, so mental puzzlings over half-brothers and emotions would have to wait. Because he needed to do something more, clearly, but what?

"Midoriya…" he scrambled for the right words, "you're afraid that they will get hurt because they are bonded to you … but … they bonded to you because … they know you will never hurt them. You won't fall, because you know that would hurt them, and you would never do that to them." He couldn't be sure if Midoriya was listening, it didn't seem as if he was, and Shōto struggled to put what he was thinking into words. He remembered their battle in the Sports Festival, remembered wings of fire outstretched and a throat screamed raw with conviction, "Your quirk is your own." Midoriya stiffened slightly in his arms and Shōto took it as a sign that he was listening, "Your quirk is your own … but so is your heart. Your Will … it comes from your heart doesn't it? From what you feel."

The hand that had been awkwardly rubbing Midoriya's back came to rest on his hair —like his mother used to do, like his father never had—, "You are the kindest person I know Midoriya. You have a heart big enough to love the world, even though there is so much wrong with it. I can't see that just … going away. You won't fall, Midoriya, not even to yourself." There, he had said what he could, had even quoted Midoriya a little bit, because the boy couldn't doubt those words without being a hypocrite.

But … Shōto had only believed Midoriya when his words were backed up by undeniable action. Only trusted his intentions when he saw just how far Midoriya would go to back them up. Words needed proof, promises needed some kind of assurance. He couldn't ask Midoriya to believe his words unless he could prove he believed in them just as much as he wanted Midoriya to believe.

So Shōto did the only thing he could think of that would back up his words, the only thing he could offer as proof of his faith. He reached into that hidden part of himself that Bakugo —a surprisingly good teacher— had taught him to access, the part of him that was made up purely of Will and intent, and focused on drawing it out. Indigo wisps curled around his hands like smoke and reached out, Calling for the first time as he had been Called, and in an instant, startled Sky reached back.

Sky Flames lunged with enough force that the hallways momentarily flashed with amber light, swallowing up his proffered Mist Flames with a desperation that startled him and might have even been frightening if it hadn't been for the way something clicked into place in his soul a moment later and took his breath away.

It was like getting up to full speed on his early morning run. With the world and all his thoughts narrowing down to himself, the pavement beneath his feet, and the chill of the morning air being slowly combatted by the blooming warmth of the rising sun. A place where Endeavor could not touch him, a place where his past could not catch him, a moment in time where he was simply himself, nothing else, and that was fine. A place to be himself and be free. Free to feel, free to not feel, free to just … exist for however long it took before his legs were too tired to run anymore.

It was like his mother's hugs from Before, strong and loving but also more than his mother's hugs had been for a long time. Unlike those hugs, where doubts could still linger, where the knowledge that his father could come at any time to take him away loomed, there were no doubts in this. This was a feeling of unshakeable safety, unhesitating acceptance, unfaltering welcome and care and affection and safety. Deeper and steadier than anything he could recall feeling since he turned five and his father had begun his training.

A jagged edge inside him relaxed and melted away, and the darkness in the corners of his mind was … not gone, not completely, but brighter and cleaner somehow than he could ever remember it being. In the moment that Sky wrapped around his Mist, Shōto felt a rush, a swell of emotion and peace and contentment he couldn't ever recall feeling so deeply. It felt like … like…

Like coming home. Like what coming home was **supposed** to feel like. Not like the dread and grim acceptance he associated with his father's house, not even like Class 1-A where he knew that he would be treated fairly and protected equally by Aizawa-sensei and All Might. This, **this** was what people meant when they said there was no place like home. This was what Bakugo protected with such rabid fervor. This was Midoriya. This was Shōto's **Sky**.

And right there, in that hallway, in that moment, Shōto knew he would do whatever it took to keep this safe. To protect his home. To protect his Sky. To protect the little brother who had protected him when Shōto should have been the one protecting Midoriya all along. _Mine,_ something in his mind hissed, and the rest of him agreed wholeheartedly.

Midoriya tried to pull away from Shōto with a strangled cry of fear, snapping Shōto out of his stunned bliss, "Why did you do that? **Why would you do that**? Now you're at risk too, I might ruin you **too** -!"

Shōto let him pull away to arms length, but no further. Shōto kept his hands clasped tight on Midoriya's shoulders, bending down just enough to catch Midoriya's panicked, downcast eyes as he breathed past his own shocked euphoria to address his Sky's fears, "Your heart is **your own** , Midoriya." His voice thrummed with conviction and he could **feel** his conviction traveling through the newfound bond —like the humming on his skin and the singing of Flames but so much tighter and more focused—, "You. Will. Not. Fall. Not even to yourself."

Shy amber eyes peaked back at him, and the part of himself that now hummed with Warmth and Home whispered of _hope-doubt-fear-hope_ , "But what if I do? What if I make a mistake?"

Shōto didn't smile, he wasn't good at comforting expressions. He just held Midoriya's gaze with his own as he finished, "Nobody's perfect." No matter what Endeavor said, what he had tried to make Shōto into, "Everyone stumbles," sometimes for years, sometimes in ways that only hurt themselves but even that was terrible, Shōto knew that now, "and so will you. But when you do…" A hand —calloused and rough from years of explosive abuse— nudged one of his off of Midoriya's shoulders and promptly took its place. Shōto glanced over at Bakugo, standing solemn and steady and alert at Midoriya's side, his red eyes calm and his grip on Midoriya's firm and unfaltering.

A look passed between the Storm and the Mist, silent but understanding, and Shōto gave Bakugo a slight nod before he returned his gaze to Midoriya and finished, "When you do, we will catch you. We will **protect** you." _Even from the part of you that wants you to go astray. The part of you that fears your own power and would have you shun it and seal it away. When you get too lost in your own head, we will be here to help you find your way out again. Always._

He couldn't bring himself to say all of that, he wasn't like All Might, he couldn't say those things with a completely straight face and not get embarrassed no matter how much he meant them. But then Midoriya's eyes lit up and the newfound Flame bond thrummed with relief and affection and hope and Shōto realized that Midoriya had sensed the gist of it all anyway. Midoriya glanced over at Bakugo, silently seeking reassurance that Shōto's words were true, and Bakugo met his Sky's gaze evenly. Whatever Midoriya sensed over his bond with Bakugo caused the last of Midoriya's tension to drain from his body and a smile —which really **did** seem like sunshine incarnate all the sudden— to bloom over his face, "Thank you … thank you both so much…"

Shōto straightened up, relieved that he had managed to —somehow— avert the emotional crisis that his friend —little brother, home, Sky— had been experiencing, "You're welcome, Midoriya."

"Izuku. Call me Izuku. Or Deku. All the others do anyway."

Shōto blinked once in surprise —for as friendly as he was, Midoriya never let the class aside from his Elements call him Deku— then looked away to hide the smile tugging at his lips, "I … alright … Deku."

His bond with Midor- Deku, hummed with happy contentment, then a tiny jolt of rueful surprise when Bakugo suddenly slung an arm over both their shoulders and began forcibly herding them back to their hospital room, "Alright, alright, that's enough. Save the sh*tty sentiment and bonding for **after** Deku has gotten the sleep he needs, Half'n'Half."

Shōto opened his mouth to protest the nickname, then realized that Bakugo only ever referred to Midoriya's other Elements by nicknames and everyone else by "Extra" —unless it was a teacher, he always referred to them by name—, and decided that —just with Bakugo— Shōto would accept the nickname for the welcome it was.

Midoriya smiled at him from Bakugo's other side as they entered the hospital room where Iida was still sleeping and all began to climb into bed. It was as Shōto was hesitantly climbing under the thin covers that he heard it, Midoriya's voice in his head, warm and happy and grateful and clear as day say, _"Shōto-kun?"_

He jolted a bit and looked over at Midoriya, who was already koala-bearing around his pillow and falling asleep from exhaustion. Midoriya smiled at him in the dark, _"Welcome home."_

Shōto felt heat rush to his cheeks and quickly rolled over. But despite the knee-jerk reaction to open affection, he fell asleep with a smile on his face and a mind unplagued by nightmares for the first time in years.

.

* * *

 **No preview this time since the chapter was so long, but I will tell you the title of the next chapter. It's called "Interlude: All Might." Speculate as you wish.**

 **See you all next time!**


	7. Interlude: All Might

**Heeeyy! Here with an update! Still working on everything else (AMOSC and Ballad, why do you torment me with writer's block so) but I figured it was high time I threw this out. Hope you all like it!**

 **Review Response: Dear Liantei, greetings! Happy to hear it! I hope you enjoy this update as well!**

 **Dear Dragon Lord Draco, hello! (cackles) This is not going to be the last time Deku scares the living daylights out of a hatable character, trust me. Glad you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Dear vampireharry the 2, hey there! Happy you enjoyed!**

 **Dear AyameKitsune, hello there! Hope you like the update! Even if it's a bit short...**

 **Dear EtherealTulip, hi there! (tips hat) you're welcome, I'm happy you enjoyed! Shōto was fun.**

 **Dear Guest, hello! So ... here's the thing. Shōto knows that Izuku's Flame is made of willpower, but that doesn't mean he can't actually be Endeavor's secret kid. Think about it, we NEVER see his real father in the anime (not yet anyway) and if Inko knew that her kid was the illegitimate child of a very powerful pro hero that could ruin her to preserve his reputation, what better excuse could she give than to pretend she had a husband working overseas who had a fire-breathing quirk (just in case Izuku manifested fire of any kind instead of her small object pull quirk)? It theoretically fits, and this is the kid who in canon concluded that Izuku was All Might's secret love child. There is no talking him out of this head canon of his. XD**

 **Dear Blitza, hi! It's a bit short, but I hope you like it! I'll do another All Might POV sometime that will hopefully be longer, but we'll see.**

 **Dear Phantom Aficionado, hello! There will be a Cloud! I'll introduce him in the chapter after next. Also, sorry about sidelining Kirishima, I've been plotting to do an Kirishima interlude to cover that stuff later, I just gotta get a few other things finished up first.**

 **Dear RunFromTheMedic, hey there! It's all practice. Practice and tears. :) but you're welcome! I'm so glad you like it!**

 **Dear bladetri, hey there! XD glad to know!**

 **Dear AkabaneKazama, hello! Nope. This misunderstanding is staying right where it is. And, as I explained to Guest above, it's actually very plausible. A "overseas" husband with a "fire-breathing quirk" would be the perfect cover/alibi for a child if the single mother was afraid of her son manifesting his tempermental, illegitimate father's fire quirk in any form. Because if it got out without an alibi, Endeavor could (and probably WOULD) have Izuku taken away from Inko and Inko's life generally ruined. Because he's an absolute jerk like that. Also, this is Shōto. Shōto CANONICALLY assumed All Might and Izuku were secret parent-child because of a few similarities in quirk and some interactions. Izuku's Flames being made out of pure Will instead of a conventional quirk are going to do exactly nothing to convince him that Izuku is not a long lost baby brother.**

 **Dear Horrorchow, hello! Thank you! I've worked hard on the Flame representations. Nice to know they're paying off. Enjoy the new chapter!**

* * *

 **Interlude: All Might**

.

When Toshinori had been approached by Nezu to teach at U.A. in order to find a successor, he expected a lot of things. He expected to do his best for all of his students, to teach them no matter if they were his successor or not, and to be very careful and judicious in his search for said successor.

He knew that his former sidekick, Sir Nighteye, and several other people who knew of the true nature of One for All were expecting him to choose Togata Mirio. While it was true that the boy had great potential and had bloomed tremendously under Sir Nighteye's tutelage, and that from everything he was told Mirio-kun seemed to have all the traits Toshinori was looking for in a successor, Toshinori wanted to make his own choice. He did not deny Mirio-kun's potential, but passing on One for All was something Toshinori could only do **once** , and he wanted to be absolutely certain that the person he chose would be one who would be worthy of the responsibility. Someone who would make him proud. Someone who Nana would have liked. Someone who had that one, critical thing he believed that all bearers of One for All needed most.

In all honesty, Toshinori had no idea what that One Thing was. He just knew that there had been something about Nana that no one else could emulate, something he couldn't name but had always tried his hardest to mimic even now. Gran Torino would have told him that his nostalgia and respect for his teacher were clouding his judgement, and maybe they were. But Toshinori felt like he had to at least **try** to find a student who had that mysterious, nameless quality. That if anyone did have that quality, he would know it when he saw it.

And if he didn't, then he could always seek out Mirio-kun.

He had sat through the entrance exams with that desire in the back of his mind, keeping a sharp eye on the many potential students as they ran and fought their way through the many robots, looking for someone who stood out to him. No one had particularly distinguished themselves by the last half of the test, and he would admit that his attention might have been wandering a bit when the zero-point robots came onto the scene and the applicants began fleeing en mass.

Then someone —possibly Midnight— blurted, "What in the name of-?" And Toshinori's attention was drawn to the displays of Arena A. And he saw Midoriya Izuku for the first time.

Naturally, he had caught glimpses of the boy over the course of the exam, flashes of multi-colored fire and surprisingly good reflexes for someone who came from a purely civilian household. But the destruction of the zero-point obstacle … that had been on a different level altogether. It had been an astounding display of power and of determination to protect, the likes of which Toshinori hadn't seen outside the field —or even in the field— in years. To hear that the boy had been hospitalized for an impalement injury had been distressing on more than one level, and the rumors about the boy spawned by the footage of the display getting leaked to the internet were arguably even more so.

Toshinori tried not to pay attention to the rumors. But the one about the boy being Endeavor's love child was so prevalent —not to mention so plausible— that Toshinori was ashamed to admit —even if only to himself— that he had let the rumors jade his judgement for the first few days of teaching Class 1-A. Had almost written off Midoriya as a potential successor. Because power was one thing, but Endeavor, for all his popularity, was not … not someone Toshinori would ever trust with One for All or its secret. And despite his own belief in people being so much more than their bloodline, a boy raised with a powerful, recognizable quirk and likely a mother who spoke often of the prestigious, rich nature of his absent father…

A child's envy, especially for recognition from an absent parental figure, could be a very dangerous thing. Especially when that child could set things on fire at will.

But Young Midoriya was nothing like Endeavor. He was charismatic, certainly, but it was not the harsh charisma of the Number Two hero. He was popular with his classmates —except Shōto-kun, who understandably if regrettably avoided Young Midoriya like the plague—, but he was so painfully open that any thoughts of his kind, earnest nature being an act were discarded very quickly. Young Midoriya was everything he portrayed himself to be, and his ability to calm and direct his more excitable —or in Bakugo-kun's case volatile— classmates into channeling their energy productively was remarkable for his age and his naturally quiet personality.

Toshinori found himself liking Young Midoriya rather quickly. Possibly too quickly, as pointed out by Nezu after Aizawa complained about catching Toshinori watching lessons from afar five times too often. So Toshinori tried to hold back, distance himself from the situation, look at all of his students equally, observe the other classes for potential successors as well. But something always drew Toshinori back to Young Midoriya.

Then the Villain Invasion happened and Toshinori saw, in all its glory, what it was that kept drawing him back to Young Midoriya.

Toshinori remembered smashing through the doors of the USJ, fury and worry clashing inside him in equal measures, his usual smile nowhere to be found. The first thing to catch his gaze as he inspected the situation —right after Aizawa's dangerously injured state and the sheer number of villains present— was orange and purple fire dancing across Young Midoriya's arms as he dangled from the grip of a massive villain, his expression pained but fearless and wild.

Toshinori had been quick to intervene in that, fury and relief bubbling inside him as the villain with a hand on his face —Shigaraki Tomura— had the larger villain —Nōmu he called it, a puppet created to destroy All Might— throw Young Midoriya away like a rag doll in favor of attacking Toshinori himself. He had rescued Young Midoriya from midair and made sure that the other students and Eraserhead were safely out of the way before turning to face the Nōmu, ready to end the battle and the threat to his students and fellow hero.

But Nōmu had been more than he expected, and the warp hole had been a trap that would have been difficult for him to escape even in his prime, let alone now, with his power slowly dwindling away.

But then the students were there, Kirishima-kun with his hardened fists and Bakugo-kun with his red-tinted —they usually weren't that color, a second stage to his quirk perhaps?— explosions distracting Kurogiri while Todoroki-kun coated the villain's side and arm with ice that Young Midoriya shattered with a flaming kick to free Toshinori.

The others pulled away as soon as Toshinori was free and standing again, but Young Midoriya instead moved to guard Bakugo-kun while the latter held Kurogiri hostage. An action that, while commendable, almost got them both killed when Shigaraki sent the Nōmu after them. Toshinori tossed them both out of the way and took the blow himself — _and holy cow had that hurt_ —. He ordered them to get back — _later he would learn there was basically no point,_ ** _especially_** _with Young Midoriya_ — and fought the Nōmu all on his own.

He gave everything he had to defeat that Nōmu, intentionally created shockwaves so that the other villains could not get near either himself or his students, and in the end, his power —for all its decline— proved stronger than the Nōmu's ability to absorb blows —if only just—. But then he was out of power, barely able to hold onto his muscle form, bluffing desperately to buy time for the other heroes to show up. His bluff was called and Shigaraki and Kurogiri were racing for him-.

Fire danced like a living thing, hot and dangerous —but also safe, the way Nana had been safe, strong the way she had radiated strength until the end— around All Might, around the villains, surrounding them with an inferno as Young Midoriya and Bakugo-kun —idiots. Brave, selfless, heroic **idiots** — hurtled forward out of the fire to Toshinori's rescue. Bakugo-kun's explosions were the color of blood as he used the blasts to propel himself shoulder-first into Toshinori's side like a rocket, cursing like a sailor as he managed to knock Toshinori over into a cloud of debris and smoke and out of sight while Young Midoriya flung two jets of roaring fire at the villains and **screamed** with a strength to his voice that sent jolts through even Toshinori's heart, " **Get away from him**!"

The command rattled through Toshinori's head like cannon-fire, and it was in that moment he felt it. The unnamable quality that he had been searching for, that Nana had possessed just a fraction of, it was **there**. Inside Young Midoriya, pouring out of him like heat from the sun or water from a burst dam. It seared around them, almost hotter than the inferno Young Midoriya was causing. It was enough to steal Toshinori's already thready breath right out of his lungs.

The two villains balked from the jets of fire —from Young Midoriya's command, from the power he suddenly exuded, if only for a moment—, hesitating those crucial split seconds before Kurogiri recovered and opened wormholes to siphon away the flames and give Shigaraki the chance to grab for Young Midoriya's face-.

Then gunshots rang out and Toshinori knew that the other heroes had arrived. The villains quickly fled, Shigaraki undaunted in swearing his revenge despite his burns and gunshot wounds.

Of course, Toshinori had bigger problems to worry about than yet another villain promising to get revenge. Such as the fact that Bakugo-kun's harsh collision with Toshinori had not just knocked him down, but knocked him right out of his muscle form **where one of his students could see him** and where the others would see in another few seconds if something didn't happen. His inner panic was cut short by —to his not-so-distant surprise— Bakugo-kun himself, who abruptly seemed to realize that he was sprawled on top of a hero that was a lot smaller than he should be. Red eyes went wide in shock and disbelief, but then narrowed and whipped around to Young Midoriya, "Deku!" _No, don't call him over, it's bad enough that one of you sees-!_

Young Midoriya skidded to a stop in the fading smoke cloud, falling to his knees by Bakugo-kun and a part of Toshinori despaired as Young Midoriya took in his ragged true form with wide eyes. In any other situation, it would have been funny to see Bakugo-kun flailing with a harsh hiss of, "I swear I didn't f*ing hit him that hard! I didn't know he'd f*ing turn into a **deflated zombie** and **holy** **f*ing sh*t** he's coughing up blood-"

"Kacchan!" The whispered bark snapped Bakugo-kun's jaw shut faster than any order from a teacher. Young Midoriya looked around frantically, muttering under his breath as he hurriedly grabbed a handful of dirt and dust off the ground and shakily flicked it into the air in the direction of the other students. Toshinori was about to say it was a nice —if fruitless— thought when the dust in the air multiplied by a thousand, no, a million, more even, until it was a thick screen that none of the other students would be able to see through. While All Might choked in surprise at the sudden creation of a new smokescreen —how had he **done** that with a fire Quirk?—, Young Midoriya turned back to Bakugo-kun, "The others are going to be running over here soon, I can tell them to go assemble at the entrance since I'm Class Rep, but I'll have to go with them and they'll notice if you aren't with me."

His gaze switched to a dumbfounded Toshinori and amber eyes with purple flecks —weren't Young Midoriya's eyes supposed to be **green**?— drilled into Toshinori's blue with the same intensity that Nana's had when she was worried and Needed Answers, "Will you be okay with the other Pro Heroes? Or do we need to smuggle you out to Recovery Girl? She **would** know what to do about this wouldn't she?"

Toshinori's mouth flopped open and shut a few times, but then Kirishima-kun's voice could be heard approaching the dust cloud and he hissed, "The other Pro Heroes are fine. They know about this. Just … keep the other students away. Please."

Young Midoriya gave a curt nod, all laser focus that startled Toshinori —he seemed more like the type to flail and scream and theorize in a situation like this—, then turned and limped out of the dust cloud with Bakugo-kun at his side, "Everyone! Please help your more injured classmates and assemble by the entrance for roll call and medical attention! Let the Pros finish clean up and run security sweeps without interference!" Toshinori listened, mind spinning with a thousand things as Young Midoriya herded his classmates safely away from Toshinori's second biggest secret, never giving a hint that he had seen anything unusual about the Number One Hero.

Cementoss found him not long after and discreetly raised a wall to keep prying eyes away. The students were sent back outside to be sorted, counted, and interviewed by the police while All Might was snuck out the back way to recover and wrap his head around what had just happened.

Villains had broken into U.S.J., two of his students had seen his true form —he needed to talk to them about that, explain and impress upon them how important it was that it remained secret—, and Young Midoriya …

Young Midoriya was the one he'd been looking for, he could feel it down into his very **soul**.

 **.**

 **.**

Toshinori waited until the rush of police officers and nurses had died down before having Bakugo-kun and Young Midoriya sent to a private office to speak with him. The two were frazzled-looking and tired, but their eyes were alert the moment they caught sight of him in his true form. He opened his mouth to speak as Young Midoriya shut the door, but was interrupted by Bakugo-kun, "We won't say anything to anyone. We promise. Nobody will hear about this from us."

Toshinori blinked once in surprise, then smiled, "Thank you, my boy, I will hold you both to that. However, I felt that you two at least deserved a few answers after what you saw today." He motioned them to sit down across from him and, once they were settled, launched into the short version of events —leaving out the "eternal nemesis of my inherited quirk who also murdered my dear mentor" part—. He made sure to emphasize that he could still do his work just fine, and that while he had appreciated their heroic nature, what they'd done was far too dangerous to repeat, and that they had to keep everything he told them an absolute secret, even from their parents.

It went much better than he expected really, with Young Midoriya only getting lost in his mutterings twice and nobody screaming in astonishment —though he was fairly certain he heard Bakugo-kun call him "Zombie-Might" at some point in the conversation—. But then he tried to send Bakugo-kun away to talk to Young Midoriya privately and it all turned on its head.

"F*ck no." Bakugo-kun's look could have melted concrete.

Toshinori blinked and said automatically, "Language, Bakugo-kun." He tried to get back on topic, "Anyway, I really just need to talk to Young Midoriya in private for a few minutes, you can wait for him at the end of the hall-"

One sandy eyebrow raised over red eyes, "Let me rephrase. **No way in f*ing h*ll**. You talk to Deku, you f*ing talk to me too."

Toshinori started to protest again —because he knew Bakugo-kun was protective of his friend, but really— when Young Midoriya quietly cut in, "I-I'm sorry All Might, but there are no secrets between me and Kacchan. Anything you tell me, he's going to know later anyway. That's how it works."

He sat back and stared at the pair of them for several long seconds, working the new equation over in his head and wrestling with it. It was a huge risk. The more people who knew a secret, the more risk there was of it getting out. But then again, Bakugo-kun already knew about his real form and his injuries and Young Midoriya had such potential…

With a quick prayer that he wasn't making a huge mistake, he took the plunge. He told them the truth of his quirk. He told the boys how he was looking for a successor, told Young Midoriya that Toshinori thought **he** should be the next Symbol of Peace. He made his offer, and then he waited.

Ten minutes passed in a mixture of wide-eyed, frantic muttering and Bakugo-kun mouthing "holy sh*t" repeatedly before shooting Young Midoriya a glare that could have killed. The two boys held a staring contest, complete with tiny twitches and facial cues that was like watching a conversation, but one in a language so foreign Toshinori had no hope of reading it —he wondered how the two had gotten so close as to do that, because childhood friends or not, it was uncanny to watch—.

He was about to grudgingly offer to let them head home for the day to think it over —with more warnings not to tell **anyone** no matter Young Midoriya's decision— when the green haired boy turned to him, eyes glowing amber again —and how did he do that? That wasn't normal for a fire quirk—, "I'd be- I would be honored, All Might."

Toshinori had smiled at him, a wave of relief far stronger than he'd anticipated washing over him even as Bakugo-kun curled his lip and snorted in what Toshinori suspected was worry for his friend.

The looks on their faces when he offered Young Midoriya a strand of his hair was pretty priceless, even if it ruined the solemnity of the moment.

* * *

 **Preview:** I-Island was as breathtaking as Izuku had imagined it would be, so much so he could almost forget his unease at being temporarily separated from his Elements to fly here with All Might. He could feel Kacchan and the others trickling onto I-Island even as the plan landed and All Might attracted an entire mob of eager fans though, so Izuku firmly stamped on the impulse to start throwing people that invaded his personal space.

At least All Might was apologetic about it afterwards -he should be, that was one of the single most terrifying things of Izuku's life, USJ and Stain included and-. Wait. The blond girl that had just pogo-sticked her way over to them had just called All Might ... uncle?


	8. Interlude: Two Heroes

**Author's Note: Sooo, this isn't quite as AU as I was originally planning, but I wrote this in one sitting while watching the movie and I think it turned out cool anyway. ALSO. I have tumblr now! The link is in my profile! I'd put it in here but FF is so finicky it would just destroy the link even if I split it into multiple pieces (huffs). Anyway, come take a look if you want or drop me an ask about my characters/writing (or ask my characters a question directly) or just to look at my hyperactive fandom hopping from BNHA to Fairy Tail to FFXV and back again with some Naruto sprinkled in. Plus I put snippets up there of stuff I'm working on** **sooo... :DD**

 **Review Response: Dear Guest, hi! Awww I'm so thrilled you like it! (does the happy dance) I try really hard on these. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

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I-Island was as breathtaking as Izuku had imagined it would be, so much so he could almost forget his unease at being temporarily separated from his Elements to fly here with All Might. He could feel Kacchan and the others trickling onto I-Island even as the plane landed and All Might attracted an entire mob of eager fans though, so Izuku firmly stamped on the impulse to start throwing people that invaded his personal space.

At least All Might was apologetic about it afterwards —he should be, that was one of the single most terrifying things of Izuku's life, USJ and Stain included and—. Wait. The blond girl that had just pogo-sticked her way over to them had just called All Might … uncle?

Izuku tilted his head to one side without realizing, analyzing the new information. All Might had no known family, though siblings who had children of their own weren't … an impossibility. He was so private after all, most people didn't even know his real name. She had blond hair and bright blue eyes too, but … no. His instincts were certain that she wasn't actually related to All Might, she was just someone he cared deeply for. **_Mine then_** whispered Izuku's instincts and he tried to shove that thought away because she was her own person, he didn't even **know** her yet so he couldn't claim her as one of his — _too late, he could already feel his Flames curling silently around her in greeting and inquiry and welcome, she belonged to his mentor, which made his instincts want to_ ** _protect_** _her as one of his own_ —.

His mental pleading for Kacchan —who'd sensed the sudden influx of **mine** — to **stop laughing it wasn't funny** was interrupted by All Might finally remembering Izuku was there and introducing him to the girl. Her name was Melissa Shield, daughter of a close friend of All Might's and a student at I-Island's scientific academy. Izuku shook her hand with a timid smile —he still didn't know what to do around girls other than Tsuyu and Ochako—, but Melissa-san seemed just fine with doing all the talking.

She circled his suit, touching it without regard for his personal space —and instead of getting angry his Cloud Flames just hummed in curiosity, oh he was doomed— as she muttered about his design choices and lack of support gear. She hesitated when she spotted the scars on his hand —from Stain mostly, but also from the earlier fight with Shōto— and Izuku let her run her fingers gingerly over the marred skin as he muttered, "It's alright. I just had an … encounter with a villain during my hero internship is all. It looks ugly, but there's no real damage."

Melissa-san looked up from his hand, blue eyes swimming with curiosity and concern until All Might called her off and managed to coax her into taking them to her father for the surprise visit.

Meeting David Shield was … incredible. The man was probably a bit overwhelmed by the embarrassing amount of trivia that spilled from Izuku's lips, but- but **David Shield**. The man had been such an influential figure in All Might's past he couldn't- he couldn't **not** babble. At least until his intuition whispered of the pain in All Might's body and his focus switched over to his mentor in alarm. Before the adults could come up with any kind of excuse, and with a suddenness that had to be entirely obvious, Izuku begged Melissa-san to show him around the expo while Shield-san and All Might caught up — _after throwing a glance All Might's way to confirm that Shield-san knew about All Might's true form, which he apparently did_ —.

Melissa-san was … fun to be around. Friendly and charming in a way that made it easy to forget his usual awkwardness around new people —especially new girls— and the I-Expo was **incredible**. They chatted all through the attractions, commented on favorite pro heroes —nobody matched up to All Might though— and talked about their respective schools and career goals. Melissa-san wanted to be a scientist like her father, with a passion in her eyes that reminded Izuku a bit of himself and Kacchan when it came to All Might — _and his Elements were poking him curiously over the bonds by now, wondering who was holding his attention so thoroughly he hadn't sought them out yet_ —. Even though he was keeping half an eye out for the source of the uneasy hum growing in the back of his head from his instincts, exploring the expo with Melissa-san was great.

Ochako was the first of his Elements to find him, tackling him to the floor with a gleeful cry right in the middle of the science attraction while Yaoyorozu-san and Jirō-san eyed him with suspicion —wait this looked like a date didn't it, oh **snap** —. Everyone stared as Izuku managed to worm out of Ochako's death grip and introduce the girls to each other —Melissa-san's innocent question of whether Ochako was Izuku's girlfriend just about killed him but at least it made the other girls back off—. Izuku was eternally grateful when Melissa-san read the mood and took them all to a nice café without revealing that he'd come to I-Island with All Might —his Elements knew, he couldn't hide it from them, but the others…—.

Ochako pestered him with cheerful questions over their bond even as she indulged in girl talk with the others and Izuku tried to answer honestly and not outwardly react to the teasing she was throwing his way. He wasn't surprised to see Sero-kun and Kaminari-kun there as waiters, he remembered spotting the help wanted flyers around the school and he knew his classmates had wanted desperately to come to the preview of the expo. The two drooled over Melissa-san until Ochako got protective and leveled her Smile of Death —thank you Kacchan for making his Sun terrifying in all circumstances—, after which they turned into perfect gentlemen without even needing Iida-kun's flyby lecture.

Melissa-san ended up playing tour guide to the group —sans Kaminari-kun and Sero-kun who still had work— and Izuku smiled as they arrived at some kind of hero challenge mini-game in time for Eijirō's bond to light up with triumph at a thirty-three second record. Izuku clapped happily for his Lightning, _"Great job, Eijirō!"_ Eijirō turned and waved to him as he exited the ring and- oh dear.

 _"_ _Kacchan, Shōto. That wasn't a dare for you two to do better."_ Below him, his Mist and Storm glanced over their shoulders at him, unimpressed by his half-hearted attempt to control the rising competitive streaks he could feel.

Kacchan grinned, bloodthirsty and bright as he jogged forward first, _"Introduce me to the newbie in a couple seconds, Deku. First I gotta show the rest of these nerds what a_ ** _real_** _record time looks like."_

Izuku sighed, leaned against the railing and rested his chin on his hand as Ochako cheerfully explained that Eijirō, the blond maniac blowing up all the robots, and the quiet boy with red and white hair were all classmates of theirs.

Kacchan crowed over his record of fifteen seconds, then shrieked in rage — _glee_ — when Shōto iced over the entire course in fourteen seconds. Izuku held his head in his hands —why were his Elements so competitive. Why?— but then Kacchan had blasted up to the railing and was yelling about Izuku putting "IcyHot" —oh look, Shōto had gotten an upgraded nickname, that was nice— in his place and Shōto casually poked fun at Kacchan's temper as he crafted stairs up to the railing out of ice and Mist Flames and- and-.

And somehow Izuku found himself standing at the starting line of the course, waiting for them to replenish the robots so he could take his turn —at least Shōto had melted his giant pillar of ice or else the course would be shut down for the rest of the day—.

The announcer rallied and raised her hand in preparation, all of Izuku's Elements cheered over their bonds —though for Shōto it was more a shy flicker of good luck—, and Izuku slowly sank into a ready position. His eyes slid shut, the world slowed and narrowed. He didn't need to see the announcer or her hand, didn't need to hear the roar of the crowd or the shout of, "Go!" that took an eternity to fall from her lips. All he needed was his Flame, and the intuition in his head that hummed _wait-wait-wait-_ ** _now_**.

Power flooded his frame and Izuku was airborne. His eyes flickered open, the world a blur of instinct and _jump-fire-robot-kick-jump_ and the knife edge that came from pulling on just enough of One for All that he didn't overcompensate with his Cloud Flames and break something again even as his Sky turned the robot villains to slag. He skidded to a stop at the top of the mountain, breathing light and Sky Flames flickering sporadically off his shoulders —reaching for a form he didn't need right now and so suppressed even though he **wanted** —.

He blinked a few times, wondered when the world had gotten so quiet. He glanced around to check that the crowds were still there. They were, they were just … not shouting anymore. He looked over at his Elements and friends, most of whom were gaping quietly, even if Kacchan was silently laughing himself sick on the floor at Eijirō's feet.

The announcer finally sputtered out, "It- it's a new record-! I can't even believe my eyes-! Izuku Midoriya clocks in at **ten seconds**!" The silence shattered into cheering, Izuku blushed as he made his way back to the stands. He almost couldn't stop blushing for the rest of the trip around the expo because his friends and Melissa-san wouldn't stop **talking** about his record —even Tsuyu who wasn't even there, since she wasn't allowed to see the expo until tomorrow, Ochako had tattled—. Honestly if he'd known it would be that big a deal —apparently he'd just broken about five world records— he would have reined himself in more.

Thankfully, they eventually moved on to talking about other things and gasping over the Expo —which truly was amazing—. Melissa-san somehow got herself lodged firmly in Kacchan's list of People He Tolerated and by the time evening rolled around and the Expo was scheduled to close for the day, Izuku was almost convinced that Kacchan had a crush on her —stop yelling over the bond Kacchan, he didn't **mean** it—.

Kaminari-kun and Sero-kun got Melissa-san's spare tickets and Iida-kun insisted they all dress formally and meet up to go to the reception party together for the pride of U.A.. Kacchan told him to shut up, but Eijirō just laughed and slung an arm over his shoulder and promised the rest that he would make sure Kacchan was dressed properly for the event.

They made to go their separate ways when Melissa-san tapped Izuku's shoulder and shyly asked him to come with her for just a bit longer. She had something to show him. Kacchan invited Shōto along —honestly Izuku was surprised Kacchan had left him alone unsupervised for as long as he had— and Izuku apologized on his Storm's and Mist's behalf before coaxing Melissa-san into letting Shōto come along despite her misgivings.

She led them to the lab her school had granted her, laughed shyly when Shōto awkwardly complemented her collection of awards, "Actually, I wasn't getting the best grades for a while," she said as she disappeared into the next room, "That's why I studied really hard. Because I wanted to become a hero no matter what."

Shōto and Izuku glanced at each other, "A pro hero?"

"No, I have that up early on. I'm quirkless after all." Izuku's breath faltered for a moment in surprise and Shōto's face was blank but his emotions uncomfortable over their bond.

Izuku stared down at his hands, tried to imagine what it would have been like to never have a quirk —to never have the Flames that had saved Kacchan that day in the park— and shuddered, "I'm sorry to hear that."

Melissa-san cocked her head as she reemerged from the other room, "Why? I don't have a problem with being quirkless. At least, not anymore. My Papa always said that I didn't need one to become a hero anyway," she smiled and tapped her temple, "I just needed my head and my heart! Besides, I had a goal close to my heart. Papa never got to use his quirk for his work, so I didn't need one to be just like him. Anyway," she opened the box and carefully took out what looked like a red bracelet, "I made this a long time ago while watching Uncle Might."

 _"_ _Uncle … Might?"_ Whispered Shōto even as Izuku carefully examined the bracelet of red metal —that felt alive somehow, like Melissa-san had put a little piece of herself into it's creation and, oh, maybe she wasn't as quirkless as she thought—.

 _"_ _Her father is David Shield, you know, the guy who created All Might's signature costumes?"_

 _"…_ _Oh."_

"Well," interrupted Melissa-san unknowingly, "Aren't you going to try it? Just press that button."

He did, then gasped softly as it grew and spiraled up his arm, encasing his scarred hand in a faintly vibrating sensation of _protection-affection-strength_ that **definitely** wasn't his imagination. Shōto leaned closer to examine the gauntlet as Melissa-san explained how it worked and how she'd tested it —it could withstand three All Might-grade punches, that was **incredible** —.

Izuku smiled breathlessly, thrilled to have it even as he asked if it was really okay for him to keep it. Melissa-san just laughed and said that was what support gear was **for** , to be used by heroes that needed them. Izuku thanked her profusely, and Melissa-san apologized to Shōto that she didn't have anything she thought would be of use to him. Izuku quietly gaped in shock when Shōto replied, "It's fine, Melissa-san. I'd rather Izuku have something than me, anyway. It's hard enough to keep my little brother out of trouble without having to worry about him overdoing it and hurting himself too. So thank you."

Melissa-san's eyebrows shot up, "Oh-! You-! I didn't realize you were brothers! You're last names are different and all…" and they didn't look that much alike at all was an unspoken addition. Izuku tried to find words to clear up the misunderstanding without hurting Shōto's feelings —because he did love Shōto like a brother, same as he loved Kacchan and Eijirō, but Melissa-san assumed Shōto meant brothers by blood and—. Shōto possessively laid a hand on Izuku's shoulder, his expression deceptively flat as he explained, "Our mothers are two different people, we take after them rather than our father."

Melissa-san made a few faces as she processed the implications of that —because she knew who Shōto's father was and that he was still married to his first wife— and Izuku internally begged the earth to swallow him whole because he'd already had to deal with the Endeavor rumor at school everyday, did he really have to deal with it here? _"Shōto…"_

 _"_ _Have you ever actually_ ** _met_** _your father?"_

 _"_ _Well, no, but-."_

 _"_ _Then how do you know it isn't true?"_

… Izuku had no way to respond to that, so he just held his silence and let Shōto herd him away after they got an angry phone call from Iida-kun. Shōto ended up dragging Izuku to his hotel room instead of Izuku's because he didn't want Izuku to go alone, insisted they were close enough in size to use one of his spare suits anyway so it would be fine. Izuku went along with it mostly because it was either that or strangle himself with his failed attempts to properly knot his own tie.

They were in the middle of preparing, Shōto carefully knotting Izuku's tie —spare suit his left foot, the shirt of the suit Shōto had given him **exactly** matched his Sky Flame and the black tie had teeny tiny diagonal stripes of violet on them—, when Izuku felt it. His intuition, which had been humming nervously all day —new place, not all of his Elements at his side—, suddenly snarled, so loud and furious in his head that Izuku had yanked Shōto behind him and raised flaming hands in defense on instinct despite being alone in the room in an instant.

 _Danger-danger-danger-_ ** _danger_** _-_ seethed his instincts even as Shōto touched his shoulder in concern and all his Elements clamored to know what was wrong and Izuku could **see** that there was no one else in the room to act as a threat.

Izuku took a deep breath, then two, lowered his hands and listened to what his intuition was saying under the scream of danger. _Infiltration-traitors-danger-traitors-hunters-thieves-_ ** _danger_** _-_. Izuku straightened up, grabbed his black suit jacket off the bedpost and put it on like a man going to war —he'd prefer his suit, but that could tip off whoever the threat was—. He reached out to his Elements, _"Something's wrong. There are villains on the island. I don't know where, or what they're planning, but I think it has something to do with the party."_

Shōto stiffened and Kacchan's snarl filled Izuku's head while Tsuyu fretted, _"How is that possible? This place is supposed to be as secure as Tartarus!"_

Izuku bared his teeth silently even as he began fishing through his uniform's utility belt for whatever little tools he could hide in his suit —he had Melissa-san's gauntlet in its bracelet form too, that could come in handy if his intuition drove them into a large fight—, _"Security means nothing if a traitor lets them in."_

The silence that followed that declaration was heavy. Angry. Wary. Tsuyu was upset that she couldn't come with them, the rest were worried about what to do —or who to hit in Kacchan's case—. _"What should we do?"_ asked Shōto softly.

Izuku paused, bit his lip, _"We can't tell anyone. We don't know who let them in or how many they are. Depending on how long they've been here, they could be wearing disguises. Plus, we have no evidence. Tsuyu, the rest of the class are all staying in the same hotel, right? Keep an eye on them, if an attack happens outside the party, try to run damage control and protect the civilians until we get there. Everyone else, wear your formal clothes, but come prepared. We don't want anyone to know we're onto them, but we're not going to be caught off guard."_

 _"_ _Right."_

Festive mood thoroughly ruined and replaced with one of wary alertness, they all filtered to the central tower in which the party was taking place, meeting a frantic Iida too late to see the start of the party. Kacchan began cursing over the bond, because apparently he'd been too busy looking out for enemies to realize that Eijirō was the one leading the way and with Eijirō spectacularly bad sense of direction… they were lost. They were somewhere in the building, but they had no idea where and without their phones that they'd forgotten, they had no way of pulling up a map.

Iida threw a fit over their absence until the loudspeakers beeped and echoed with, "This is an announcement by the I-Island security system. We have received a report from the security system than an explosive device was placed in the I-Expo area. I-Island will now be in high alert mode. Residents and tourists should return to their homes or lodgings. Those that have come a long way should go and wait at the nearest evacuation center. Anyone still outside ten minutes from now may be arrested without warning. Please refrain from going outdoors."

 _Infiltration-traitors-_ ** _danger_** _-_ hissed Izuku's instincts as blast doors began rolling down during the announcement, cutting off the building from the outside, "In addition, most of the main buildings will be sealed off by the security system. I repeat-" the security system cut off abruptly. Izuku bared his teeth.

The others whispered to themselves, and Sero-kun uneasily piped up that there was no phone signal or television reports anymore. A quick test of the elevators showed they weren't working either. Melissa-san frowned, "I can't believe the security system would switch to high alert mode just because they found something explosive." She looked around the room as if it was alien to her somehow, foreign in its unexpected actions. Izuku mentally broadcast it all to Kacchan and Eijirō, told them to stay out of sight and try to find their way to the party still, then took over, "Iida-kun, everyone, let's head for where the party is taking place."

"Why?"

 _Because that's where the danger is,_ Izuku didn't say, instead he tried to smile reassuringly, "All Might is at the party, he'll know what to do."

The non-Elements bought the excuse and Melissa-san led the way up the emergency stairs to the party. As they hurried up the stairs, Izuku touched the panel of Melissa-san's gauntlet, let the comforting hum of it settle against his skin, a reassurance that when a fight broke out, he wouldn't have to hold back for fear of breaking his bones with Cloud Flames and One for All combined.

They made it to the floor above the party, as the party's floor was locked down — _trap-trap-trap_ whispered his instincts, if they'd been on time they would have been trapped too—. The roof of the party room was a glass dome with viewing rails, and it didn't take long to look down and piece together what had happened. Villains armed with guns prowled the room, frightened civilians huddled in groups while the heroes lay frustrated and still in glowing blue restraints.

Including All Might. Trapped on the center stage where everyone could see him, unable to move for the sake of the hostages, unable to de-transform if his time limit ran out.

Izuku circled around to be in All Might's peripheral vision and took pictures with his phone, both for evidence and to use the flash to attract his mentor's attention. All Might's head turned fractionally, spotted him, and in shadowed sockets, blue eyes widened in alarm. Izuku signaled Jirō-san, who listened intently as Izuku pointed at his ear where All Might could see. Moment's later, Jirō-san began relaying All Might's words, "Villains have taken over the tower. They have control of the security system, and everyone on the island is their hostage. All of the heroes have been captured as well. It's too dangerous, get away from here as soon as possible."

They retreated to the emergency stairwell to avoid notice while they discussed their options. Iida-kun and Yaoyorozu-san immediately insisted on obeying All Might's directions and escaping, they were students without licenses to fight, it would be better to escape and tell the heroes outside to mount a rescue.

Melissa-san pointed out that escape would be almost impossible, I-Island had the same level of security as Tartarus, and now that security was in the villains' hands. Kaminari-kun suggested waiting for someone to figure it out on the outside, Jirō-san stood up indignantly and protested that sentiment. Izuku found himself speaking before an argument could break out, his voice carrying over Sero-kun's protests despite how quietly he spoke, "We have to do something." Everyone turned to look at him, protests on the lips of Iida-kun and Yaoyorozu-san and Kaminari-kun, but when Izuku stood up, shoulders back and eyes glittering amber, they quieted to listen, "We can't escape. One mistake and the villains would use the security system to kill the innocent people outside. We can't just wait here for someone to notice on the outside either, that could take days, and by then the villains will have either succeeded in their plan and have no more need of hostages, or **witnesses** , or someone else without our training will have tried something and gotten other people killed."

Izuku stared thoughtfully at the stairwell around them, "As it is, we have an advantage. The villains don't know we're here, and we are in the **heart** of their stolen stronghold. This is where the security center is, yes?" He glanced at Melissa-san, who nodded, "Then if we infiltrate the security center and defeat the villains guarding it, we can shut down the security system. That would allow the captured pro heroes to free themselves and take care of the rest of the villains with minimal risk to civilian lives."

"Midoriya-kun!" Hissed, Iida-kun, "We cannot fight! That would be breaking the law-!"

Izuku cut him off impatiently, "I-Island is considered its own sovereign territory and as such holds to different laws. Quirks are not restricted here nearly as much as in Japan or any of the mainlands. Public, commercial, and **self-defensive** quirk use is permitted so long as there is no resulting loss of life or hospitalization. We don't **need** to have licenses here, Iida-kun, we just need to have just cause." He spread his arms out to encapsulate their situation, "What better cause is there than the protection of civilian hostages?"

"Besides," added Shōto in the quiet that followed Izuku's declaration as he moved to stand by his Sky's side, "we're trying to become heroes. Does having no license make it all right for us to stand aside and do nothing while people get hurt?"

The others looked doubtful, but Ochako stood up too, "I'm with Deku! I want to save them!"

Izuku scanned the group, weighed his words, "We do this with as little fighting as possible. All we have to do is get to the security center and restrain the villains there. Sero-kun, your tape would be invaluable in that, as would Yaoyorozu-san's creation ability." He took a deep breath, "I understand if you don't want to come and risk it, if you want to stay here and wait for a rescue, then that's fine." He locked eyes with each of them, felt his two present Elements stand on either of his sides in solidarity, "But we are going do this, whether you come along or not."

Melissa-san was the first to move in the wake of his declaration, hands pressed against her chest in an agitation that hummed faintly against Izuku's senses like the tang of ozone before a storm, "I'm coming with you!"

Shōto hesitated, "But you're quirkless. This would be even more dangerous for you than it is for us."

"I don't care!" She insisted, "You need someone to work the system, don't you? You wouldn't know what to do, but my father designed the security system! I can restart it for you! Please, let me help protect my home!"

Izuku brushed Shōto's arm in silent reassurance, "We'll do our best to protect you then."

Ochako pumped a fist, "Yeah!"

One by one, the others stood and joined his cause, Iida-kun being the only one to place the condition of turning back should it become too dangerous upon them — _there would be no turning back, not from this, there would only be_ ** _vengeance_** _against those who dared restrain and threaten Izuku's second Sun, but Izuku did not say that_ —. Over the bond, Tsuyu seethed that she couldn't come, but she had rounded up what classmates and children she could find and was protecting them under the guise of group games to pass the time. Izuku mentally thanked her and told her to keep an eye out for trouble.

Izuku ducked out to the glass to stare down at All Might for just a moment, silently promising to help him despite the frantic protests gleaming in All Might's eyes. Then he turned and ran to save his friends and his second Sun.

Taking the stairs to the top floor —two hundred floors who needed a building that tall— was tiring for Izuku, even though he constantly reinforced his energy levels with Cloud Flames. The others were wheezing by the sixtieth, and Izuku doubled back to pick up Melissa-san and carry her by the sixty-fifth despite her protests for him to save his strength — _he was fine, really, the only reason he was winded was he was saving his Cloud Flames for combat as much as possible, if he flooded his system with them he wouldn't be breathing hard_ —. As it was he was only using enough to carry Melissa-san without trouble.

On the eightieth floor, they ran into their first true obstacle. A blast shutter over the stairs. They debated what to do until Kaminari-kun, in a fit of winded stupidity, opened the door to the eightieth floor, setting off an alert. The others hissed insults at Kaminari for his stupidity even as they ran for the stairwell on the opposite side of the floor, cutting through a massive greenhouse to avoid the blast doors trying to box them in.

They had to hide when they spotted the active elevator, watched from the bushes as two villains wandered out complaining about stupid kids. Izuku settled on his toes, ready to pounce at any moment, and Shōto's Mist Flames whispered in preparation. Then Izuku felt Kacchan's and Eijirō's Flames burn, close and familiar in the air and he couldn't stop a tiny laugh from escaping him as the villains managed to get out two words before Kacchan was on them with burning red hands and a roar of gleeful fury.

The shortest villain went flying from the blast, the second dodged Eijirō's punch and flung out some kind of wind blast with his quirk that went straight for Eijirō's face-. Ice sprung up to shield Izuku's Lightning as Izuku rammed his fist into the villain's gut, then roundhouse kicked him in the face with enough force to send him into the wall. Izuku smiled pleasantly — _the villains looked up and trembled at the aura of death pressing down on them, the contained fury that burned amber and violet in the strange boy's eyes_ — as he said, "Excuse us. We're just passing through on our way to the reception party."

The short villain stopped being short as his quirk activated and turned him into a giant monster, Izuku didn't bat an eye as the villain charged him, just sent a quick impression of strategy to his Elements and let them handle the giant while he dissuaded the second from getting up again with a bone cracking punch that sent the man flying into Shōto's restraining wall of ice. Eijirō and Kacchan dealt with the giant quirk man, Lightning sparking off Eijirō's shoulders and arms as he caught the giant's punch before it could reach Izuku while Kacchan blazed into the villain's side with a blood-red spinning leap of fire. The villain went flying, unconscious and badly singed, and Izuku eyed the walls warily. They wouldn't have much time before more backup arrived for the villains.

A gesture from Izuku and Shōto lifted them up to the walkways high above in search of a way out. They found a vent leading outside the building, talked the stick-thin Sero-kun into going out and using his tape to grapple up to a higher level and let them into the maintenance room above their heads — _in the security center, the villains began to curse the students who were evading them so easily, and fear the kids who could so effortlessly take down two of their best_ —.

The next room was filled with security machines, and their first plan of using Kaminari-kun to electrocute them failed when the machines turned out to be electrically resistant. Down one member, Izuku snarled as he and Kacchan and Iida-kun broke through the tidal-wave of machines with their quirks, Shōto bringing up the rear to guard the others from any stragglers as they fled. Up more floors, around more corners, they entered the server room and were met with a veritable tidal wave of robots and a warning from Melissa-san to not damage the server room, or else they could make the security system malfunction.

Iida-kun, Yaoyorozu-san, Sero-kun, Kaminari-kun, Jirō-san, and Eijirō all stayed behind to hold them off while Izuku, Melissa-san, Ochako, Kacchan, and Shōto ran, the sounds of battle echoing behind them.

They made it outside, surrounded by slow moving fans and with a door high above them. Shōto formed a platform of ice beneath them and began lifting them up when the doors opened and more machines poured through. Shōto cursed, jumped down to help Kacchan fight while Ochako lifted Melissa-san and Izuku into the air with her quirk. Izuku steered with his Flames, pulled back his fist and slammed a fist of Cloud Flames through the wall. Ochako released her quirk from below and they tumbled to the ground.

Izuku sprung to his feet, intuition seething in his head even as Melissa-san checked to see if he was alright-. There. Izuku ducked under the incoming blade swipe, **snarled** in rage as the man slipped by him and nicked Melissa-san with his quirk before Izuku grabbed the yelling villain's shirt and flung him away hard enough to crumple the stairs on impact. Izuku breathed deep, reined in the rage that was bubbling, carefully treated the cut with antibiotic cream and wrapped it with the little roll of bandages he'd hidden in one pocket, "Let's go, Melissa-san. The others will catch up later."

Melissa-san stared at him in surprise for a moment, then nodded and up the stairs they ran.

Two more villains tried to get in their way, Izuku felt no shame in slamming their heads into the wall after dodging their bullets. His Flames were humming louder and louder now, driven on by the agitation of his Elements and Melissa-san's fearful determination and the instinct in his head that was screeching _traitors-traitors-_ ** _traitors_** louder and louder the closer they got to the security center.

Then they spotted Melissa-san's father in the storage room.

Then they learned of the **betrayal**.

Izuku stared while Melissa-san shook in shock-hurt-denial and Izuku **seethed** through the excuses — _theft of an invention he wanted to use to help All Might, denial of something Izuku could already_ ** _see_** _would be weaponized if it was mass produced, a desperate plan to use "fake" villains to cover up stealing it back_ —.

How dare they.

How. Dare. They.

The theft of the invention was heartbreaking, but what about the lives at risk? All Might's identity? And what about the villains who used real bullets and tried to **hurt** people were **fake**? Were **actors** playing a role?

Even if it was to help All Might remain a hero, **what gave him the right** to spit in the face of **everything** All Might had ever stood for in order to give his so-called "help"?

Melissa-san showed her oozing cut, and Shield-san had just enough time to be astounded when Izuku's instincts screeched and he whirled, fire exploding from his hands and reaching for the threat-. Metal slammed into him, dragged him across the room and pinned him like a mummy so he couldn't move or speak as the head villain strode in.

The assistant betrayed Shield-san, and each gunshot —one into the assistant, one into Shield-san who defended his assistant even to the last—, drove him further into rage. The villain struck Melissa-san, stunned Shield-san with a blow, raised the gun to "remove Shield-san's attachments"-.

Izuku **roared** and his Flames roared with him. Metal exploded out in bits of slag as he lunged, wall buckling under his jump as he lunged for the villain who **dared** touch those under **Izuku's protection**. The floor rose in a wall to stop him, melted and shattered less than a second later, another wall rose, then a third. The fourth to appear within the space of feet and seconds made Izuku finally pause. Izuku stopped, stepped back, turned to Melissa-san with eyes that **burned** , "Melissa-san, get to the security center and restart the system, I'll get your father back."

Melissa-san nodded and ran for the exit. The second villain lunged for her, Izuku shattered the restraining metal walls that tried to hold him back like glass as he leapt after her and guarded her escape. He swatted the minion villain aside like a fly, saw fear and disbelief shine in the eyes of the metal-wielder before the man upended the entire room to try to smother Izuku while he fled with the suitcase and the captive Shield-san.

Izuku struggled under the weight of the metal, the lack of oxygen for his Flames. One of the sharp edges of metal had pierced his side, and his blood felt slick against his skin and clothes as he shook from the strain. His Elements raged with him over their bonds, shouted that the machines had gone silent and they were on their way. Melissa-san had done her part.

It was time for Izuku to do his.

 _I. Will. Not. Yield._ Metal groaned as he pushed, forced his legs to stand as his Flames pulsed in time with his heartbeat, _Give him back. Give him back. You-dare-take-my-Sun's-Territory-my-Territory-_ ** _give-him-back-_** Izuku screamed, One for All burned under his skin just like his Flames and metal gave and shattered with a cacophony of sound. Izuku ran despite the throbbing pain in his side as his Cloud Flames made more-more-more blood to replace what was running down his side.

He bounded up the stairs, barely touching any of the steps as he sprinted for the helipad on top of the building. He got there just as the helicopter turned on, "Give him back!"

The villain turned, surprised, covered his unease with a grin and didn't hesitate to pull his pistol free and point it at Shield-san's head, "Oh? That eager to see him brought to justice?"

Izuku paced the far edge of the platform, not daring to come closer and hating every moment of it as he spat, "No. I'm here to save him."

"Him? He's practically a villain!"

"Even if he was, I would still save him. That's what heroes do. Now," Izuku stilled, his rage settled abruptly into something far more dangerous than blind anger. He smiled at the villain, saw the man flinch away from the expression while fire licked Izuku's shoulders and danced in his hair, "Give him back, and I won't hurt you."

The villain laughed, but it sounded shaky, "I don't think so. You can't do anything to me while I have him. Can you, **hero**?" The villain touched the platform with his hand, more metal rippled, slammed into Izuku and threw him off the platform while the villain hurried into the helicopter and it took off. Izuku found himself free falling, tumbling end over end while Melissa-san's father got further and further away.

 ** _No._** Izuku reached into his core, his Will, his Flame, **_I will not lose to you._**

In the night sky over I-Island, wings of fire bloomed hot and wide.

Izuku surged skyward, carried upward by his Will alone, slammed into the helicopter and seared the inside of the machine with his Flames as his wings furled around the restrained professor — _inside the wall of fiery feathers, the professor gasped, stunned by the sudden arrival, stunned even more that he wasn't burning even as the villain who had captured him screamed pained curses over his new burns_ —, "I'm taking you back, Professor. Melissa-san is waiting for you."

The floor of the helicopter buckled and shattered under a swift strike of purple-coated hands and Izuku held tight to the startled, gasping professor as he leaped clear of the wreckage and flew back down to the roof of the building. Just as he set the professor down, a familiar Flame burned against his senses and All Might's laugh echoed from on high, "Well done, Midoriya-kun! That was a spectacular job!" All Might landed next to them, grin in place despite the pain he had to be feeling. All Might's large hands reached out for his friend and Izuku stood aside —this wasn't his place anymore, Shield-san was All Might's Territory first—.

Metal swatted All Might aside like a fly before he could touch his friend, coiled around the professor and dragged him away to where the metal of the tower was writhing like a living thing. Izuku snarled and gave chase, was knocked back with a startled cry when the metal proved suddenly resistant to his Flames.

Inside the writhing growth of metal and wires and pipes, Izuku could see the strange headband on the villain's head as he laughed. All Might lunged, was thrown back same as Izuku had. They stared as the tower of animate metal began to rise-rise-rise. The villain announced his plan to sell the device for any price. After all, what wouldn't people pay for the device that had killed All Might as a demonstration?

The floor upended, Melissa-san screamed in fear as she was flung away by the metal and Izuku caught her in his arms as he cleared the danger zone with a few flaps of his wings. _All Might…_ His second Sun was at his time limit, and with the metal chasing Izuku around, he had no time to put Melissa-san down and help him. He reached out to the fury of his own, called for them in silent _fury-command-help-him_ , smiled as ice turned metal brittle and red-tinted explosions disintegrated them altogether.

"How can you get beat up by such a d*mn lame last boss, All Might?" His Storm roared as he blew away assault after assault, "Get up and **fight**!"

"Get the villain! We'll hold off the metal!" Shouted Shōto as fire licked at his shoulder and Mist turned his ice into a roaring dragon of blue.

His friends were here.

All Might rallied, went on the offensive as Izuku's classmates harassed and destroyed any metal they could reach. Izuku landed next to Yaoyorozu-san and Ochako, set Melissa-san down with a silent command to his Sun to protect her in his stead. Then he straightened up and faced the tower, wings flaring as he watched his mentor blow through his opposition and send out shockwaves of power as he reached to knock the villain off his pedestal.

Faltered, as metal caught All Might in midair and the villain wrapped a glowing hand —a second quirk how did he have a second quirk— around All Might's throat and said something to All Might that Izuku couldn't catch. Whatever it was, Izuku could **feel** the fury-pain-disbelief it caused in his mentor right before All Might was thrown back, trapped in a mass of junk that held him in place as metal spikes surged upward to tear him apart.

Melissa-san's scream rang in Izuku's ears even as he leaped forward, "Don't **touch him**!" He cannoned into the junk, fire exploding outward, forcing apart the metal, melting the spikes to slag before they could reach All Might, shattering the restraints with fury alone. They landed in a tumble, All Might throwing off a piece of rubble before it could hurt them and sputtering out that Izuku was being too reckless-.

Izuku just smiled past the rage bubbling behind his teeth, "But it's a hero's job to save those in trouble, isn't it?"

All Might paused. Laughed a bloody laugh of rueful pride, "Thanks. It's true that I'm in a bit of trouble right now. Care to lend me a hand, Midoriya-kun?"

Izuku clasped his mentor's outstretched hand, stood without fear or hesitation despite his bleeding side, "Let's do this."

They ran.

Rubble rained from above only to be smashed by his Storm. Pillars were frozen by dragons of ice. Izuku didn't stop, never stopped, swatted aside what he could not dodge with his gauntlet-covered hand —Melissa-san's Will, a gift of her Lightning Flames that she didn't know she had—, followed in his mentor's footsteps as they went up-up-up-.

He was dimly aware that he and All Might were shouting something, something about heroes, about limits and breaking them. He could hear the villain promising to destroy them as he summoned a metal cube the size of the building to kill them all.

Izuku and All Might went airborne, Will humming between them in a way that was almost Harmony as they struck the cube at the same time, identical war cries on their lips as they fought gravity and metal and malice and **forced** it to yield. To break.

The cube exploded, Izuku soared higher with a flap of wings as the cube shattered into a ring of slag. His Elements thrummed in his blood, screaming for him to _go-rise-fight-_ ** _fly_** _-_ and there was a heady moment, as he shot up-up-up high above the tower, above All Might's trajectory that was straight for the villain, where he felt it. Felt One for All **sing** under his skin, filling him with _memories-Flame-Will_ that weren't his — _but also were, because he had inherited this, this was All Might's gift to him, this was his torch to bear now_ —. They gave him strength of generations that had come before him, all of them unaware of the Will burning beneath their skin, all of them giving that Will away when they passed their torch on. Sun, Storm, Rain, Cloud, Mist, Lightning-.

Sky…?

Sky Flames that weren't his curled around him, memories so strong that for a moment they were a person at his back, an impression of black hair and grey eyes and a wide-wide-wide smile of pride and glee as a woman's voice laughed in his mind, _"You're gonna go far, Kid. Now you go show Toshi-Boy how it's done, ne?"_

Everything clicked into place as his Flames, for just a moment, fully merged with One for All and his words mingled with hers as her wide-wide smile danced on his lips and his wings stretched wide, "Go beyond…" All Might joined their chorus without knowing, Sun blazing against Izuku's senses as he tucked his wings and dived, " **Plus Ultra**!"

The gauntlet shattered under the strength of combined Wills and the tower followed, buckling like glass as Izuku pulled up just in time to avoid crashing and shot into the air again.

 **.**

 **.**

* * *

 **.**

 **.**

Below, David Shield opened his eyes in confusion to what he thought was the brilliance of sunlight, stared in awe at the form of the young boy that Toshinori had brought with him —the boy he'd thought was just a shy nerdy student, the boy who had bled and raged and risked life and limb for him even when he didn't deserve it— swooping high into the air again, one fist still extended, a fire of dawn orange blazing on his forehead and his wings-.

The boy's wings looked like an aurora. A dawn. They filled his vision with twisting colors of rainbow pinions and gleaming orange primaries and **oh** -.

This was why Toshinori hadn't been afraid of a future without him in it. Because this boy…

This boy shone even brighter than All Might ever had.

Toshinori landed beside him and a moment later so did Midoriya-kun. They bandaged his arm, Toshinori unafraid to reveal hints of his true form around Midoriya-kun before Toshinori sent the boy away to reassure Melissa that he was alright and see to his own injury —the boy's side was a mass of blood, how had the boy not passed out by now?—. Midoriya-kun ignored Toshinori's concerned fluttering, and instead examined David with a gaze that saw straight into his soul. Amber-violet eyes judged him for what felt like an eternity, then the flame on the boy's forehead flickered out and he smiled, "I'll go tell Melissa-san that you're alright. The EMTs should be here soon to treat you."

He turned and bounded up the rubble before David could say a word, and after a moment of silent staring as his daughter flung her arms around the boy's neck in gratitude, he whispered, "I was so scared to lose your light, Toshinori. Afraid of losing the peace you brought. But think I understand now. The hope of the future was right there in front of me all this time. In my daughter, who seeks to follow in my footsteps … and Izuku Midoriya … he's your successor … isn't he?"

Toshinori laughed a little breathlessly as he helped David stand, "Ah. He's still rough around the edges, but inside …" They both watched as Midoriya-kun's friends clambered up the rubble to hug —and loudly swear at— the boy, "Inside him hides the possibility of shining as a hero more than anyone else. More than I ever did. Or could." Toshinori took a watery breath, "He reminds me of my mentor, Nana, sometimes. I sense him out of the corner of my eye, or hear him when he's passionate about something and I swear I see her light, brighter than she ever had a chance to shine."

David considered that, the stories Toshinori had shared of the mother-figure his friend had lost too soon. The woman who had formed Toshinori into the person he was. If Midoriya-kun reminded him so strongly of the woman without even trying, shone even brighter than the hero to whom Toshinori held himself as a standard… "The future is in good hands then."

"It is." Toshinori's grin returned, "Those kids are going to change the world, David, and I can't wait to see it."

Above them, the sun finally rose, bathing the children in its light, and if, for a moment, David could almost see those multi-colored wings of Flame again, stretching out to protectively cover David's daughter _—if Toshinori's breath hitched because the shadows the dawn threw almost made him think Nana was up there too, slapping Izuku's back and laughing—_ , neither of them said anything. This was a moment for the young ones to enjoy, to bask in the light of their own future.


End file.
